Bengaluru: In the space of four to five hours, some 29.7 mm of rain poured misery over the city, and in a hitherto unseen fury, the monsoon, claimed the lives of six people on Friday evening.
While two died after a compound wall fell on them, four others were washed away and are feared dead.
The rains that started around 6 pm flooded roads and homes in most parts of Bengaluru Central, North and South. In some areas, residents vacated their homes and ran to upper floors to save themselves as rainwater started gushing in.
A couple, Shankarappa (50) and Kamalamma (42), too were running up the staircase to reach upper floors as their home on the ground was flooded when the compound wall collapsed on them, killing them on the spot on Kurubarahalli 17th Main Road.
In two other incidents in the same area, a mother and daughter, a priest of a temple and a youth were washed away in stormwater drains. Though search operations by officials of fire and emergency services and State Disaster Response Force to rescue them were underway, they were feared dead as the water level was high and rainwater was gushing through the drain with great force.
Meenakshi (57) and Pushpa (22), the mother-daughter duo, were washed away in Kempegowda Layout. They were walking on the flooded road when they fell into the drain. The residents said the two called out for help but were washed away before anyone could respond.
In another incident, the temple priest, Vasudev, and another youth were washed away in the drain near Venkateshwara temple near Kurubarahalli Circle.
The BBMP announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased.
