2 dead, one missing after tourists swept away at Gokarna Beach

Karwar: Two employees of a Bengaluru-based company died, and another remained missing after five colleagues were swept away by strong waves at Dubbansashi Beach in Gokarna on Sunday morning. Two others survived after being rescued. Search operation at Gokarna Beach The five were among 16 employees of a company based in Bellandur, Bengaluru, who arrived in Gokarna on Saturday evening and checked into a resort near the beach.

They entered the sea for a swim the following morning. Local fishermen and lifeguards noticed them in distress and launched a rescue operation, bringing four ashore. They were taken by ambulance to Gokarna Primary Health Centre.

Shobha Das, 22, originally from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and living in Bengaluru, died at the health centre. Team leader Mohammed Akram, a resident of Bengaluru’s Muslim Colony, was critically injured and died near Murudeshwar while being taken to another hospital. Vishwa AK, 24, of Kalyan Nagar, Bengaluru, was swept out to sea and remained missing.

Search operations were under way. Nishanth DV, 26, and Mohammed Qasim survived and were recovering after treatment. The bodies were sent to the mortuary at Karwar Medical College, and the families were informed.

Gokarna police said further legal action would be taken after the relatives arrived and a complaint was received. Uttara Kannada SP Deepan MN said warning boards advising visitors not to enter the sea had been installed at major beaches across the district. Police also educated tourists about the dangers, while hotel and resort owners had been asked to take precautions and keep life jackets available.

Deepan said some visitors continued to ignore warnings and enter the water. Stricter measures would be introduced to prevent people from entering the sea, he added.