Youngster swept away into rough sea at Maravanthe beach

Mangalore Today News Network

Kundapura, Apr 24, 2018: A holiday and wedding fun family outing for a Mudipu-based family in Mangaluru turned out to be a nightmare as a 12-year-old from the family was swept away into rough sea. The divers recovered his body on April 21 Monday morning.   Police have identified the deceased as Junaid, son of Rashid, a rickshaw driver.

According to the police, Rashid, along with his relatives had gone to Shiroor in Udupi for a wedding on April 22,  Sunday. In the evening, they stopped by the beach at Maravanthe under Gangolli police station limits to enjoy the picturesque view and play in the waters. However, as Junaid got into the water, giant waves hit the shores and swept him away. His friend and a relative, too, suffered the high tide and were hospitalised. While Junaid died, the other two are safe, the police said.

A team of divers recovered the body from the breakwaters at Maravanthe at around 11.30am on Monday.

“The divers and the police searched for the body most of the night. We couldn’t find it. We found it this morning stuck at the Maravanthe breakwaters,” a police official from the Gangolli station said.

Meanwhile, sea water entered about 80 houses in Ullal and Uchchila in Dakshina Kannada due to high tides. Sources said the two areas haven’t’ witnessed such intense water pressure in several years. Three families have been rushed to safety.

The Meteorological Centre, Bengaluru, of the India Meteorological Department has warned of a thunderstorm in the coastal belt until the morning hours of Tuesday. Fishermen are warned not to venture into sea at least until 2pm on Tuesday.

Thunderstorm with gusty winds is likely to occur at isolated places all over the districts of coastal Karnataka, a statement from the Centre read.


A warning issued by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services for Karnataka coast stated the possibility of rough sea near the shore. It also predicted swell waves, having 2.0 - 2.7 metre height and low-lying areas – Udupi and Murudeshwar – may experience surges intermittently until 11:30pm on April 23.


Handing out a word of caution to fishermen and the coastal population, it hinted at a possibility of waves surging during the high tide times. In the low-lying areas of the coast during this period, boats plying very near the coasts should be avoided as the coastal regions will experience its effect more.


The fishermen are directed to anchor the boats at a fair distance from each other to avoid collision and damage. Water-based recreational activity at the coast is suspended during these events. The department has also urged fishermen to refrain from taking out the boats from the shore to the sea and back. The effects of these events in the open ocean are likely to be minimal.