Davangere: In a tragic incident, three women, including two sisters, drowned in a lake while washing clothes in Diggenahalli village, located between Lakshmisagar and Duggenahalli in Channagiri taluk, Davangere district.

The deceased have been identified as Deepa Rani (30), Divya (26), and Chandana (19). Among them, Divya and Chandana were sisters, while Deepa Rani was their neighbor.

The incident occurred in the afternoon when Chandana entered the lake for a swim but got stuck in the mud. Her elder sister Divya rushed to rescue her, but she too got trapped in the muddy lakebed. Seeing both in distress, Deepa Rani jumped in to help but also drowned.

Deepa Rani and Divya were married. Deepa Rani was a mother of three children, while Divya had a one-year-old child.

Fire department personnel, led by officer Kumar, retrieved the bodies from the lake. Channagiri Tehsildar N.J. Nagaraj and Circle Inspector K. Ravish visited the site for an inspection. The bodies were sent to Channagiri hospital for post-mortem examination. The tragic deaths have left the victims' families in deep mourning.