Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Oct 20: A third year engineering student of Canara Engineering College named Pravin Shetty went missing after venturing into Phalguni river near Mallur village here, on the afternoon of Sunday October 19.

Pravin Shetty, along with his classmates Janan Poonacha and Varun P V, went to Mallur to take bath in the river near Uddabettu mosque at about 4 pm on Sunday. It is said, Pravin got caught in the whirlpool while swimming and was struggling to get out when his friends cried for help.

Extensive search operation launched by local divers and the personnel of the fire brigade did not succeed in finding his body. City rural police sub-inspector Prakash visited the spot and directed the operations.

It is learnt that Pravin was the only son of his family which hails from Brahmavar, now settled in Bangalore. As the river is very deep in Uddabettu area where whirlpools have been common and also as the Gurpur vented dam is coming up near this site, no one enters the river from this spot, local people said. Rural police have registered a case.