Krishnagiri: Despite the ban to operate coracle rides due to floods, an incident of ferrying picnickers on the swollen Cauvery river in Hogenakkal for sightseeing, is said to have claimed the life of a Pondicherry-born French national.
It is said that one Mano (58), his wife Anjalaakshi (51) and their daughter Moshika (27), all Pondicherry-born French nationals, came to Hogenakkal on Tuesday.
Mano and his family were keen to go sightseeing, and is said to have taken the help of a coracle operator, Manoharan (37) of Ootamalai, in Hogenakkal, to proceed with their plans.
Despite the existing ban on coracle rides, the coracle operator had ferried them from a place called Musalmaruvu to Hogenakkal, where the Cauvery recorded an inflow of 70,000 cusecs as it entered the Tamil Nadu side.
Unable to withstand the fury of the tide, the coracle toppled at a place identified as 'Neelagiri plate'.
Mano’s wife, Anjalaakshi, was washed away by the swift current and could not be traced till Wednesday evening.
The others, Mano, his daughter Moshika, and car driver Kandhan, managed to catch hold of low-lying tree branches, and escaped.
They were brought to a safe place by coracle operator Manoharan, who was later arrested for causing the mishap.
The fate of the woman carried away by the swirling waters still remains unknown.
