E-Paper
2 drown in Sirhind canal
One of the victims has been identified as Rahul Kumar, 30, a native of the Jaipur district of Rajasthan, while the identity of another person is yet to be ascertained, police sources here said. As per the eyewitnesses, the two stepped into the canal waters that were flowing to its full capacity during the ongoing paddy sowing season.
Two people drowned in the Bathinda branch of the Sirhind canal on Tuesday afternoon.
One of the victims has been identified as Rahul Kumar, 30, a native of the Jaipur district of Rajasthan, while the identity of another person is yet to be ascertained, police sources here said.
As per the eyewitnesses, the two stepped into the canal waters that were flowing to its full capacity during the ongoing paddy sowing season.
Rahul had come to Bathinda’s Janta Nagar locality to attend the bhog of his late sister-in-law. He was scheduled to leave for his residence tomorrow.
His relative, Sunil Kumar, told reporters that Rahul did not know swimming, but he went to the canal to take a bath.
Santosh Kumar, a resident of Janta Nagar and an eyewitness to the incident, said that people around the canal warned the victims to come out of the canal due to high currents, but the duo did not listen to the repeated warning and were suddenly swept away, said Santosh.
The authorities pressed teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) into service. Inspector Ankit Yadav from the NDRF’s Bathinda unit said that rescue teams have been making efforts for search operations since 5.30 pm amid the high flow of canal waters.
Divers fished out the body of one of the victims from the canal and his identity is being ascertained. The body was taken to the mortuary at Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital.
