Sirsi: In a tragic incident, two brothers drowned after the elder sibling jumped into a village dam to rescue his younger brother near Unchalli in Sirsi taluk on Sunday afternoon.

The deceased have been identified as Harsha Manjunath Naik (18) and his younger brother, Madan Gajanan Naik (16), natives of Mastijaddi village in Honnavar taluk.

Harsha was pursuing his college education in Udupi, while Madan was a first-year Pre-University (PU) student at the Government Marikamba PU College in Sirsi.

According to sources, the brothers had gone to a small dam near their family's farmland close to Unchalli in Sirsi taluk. Madan reportedly entered the water and began drowning. On noticing this, Harsha immediately jumped into the dam to save him. However, both brothers were overwhelmed by the depth and strong undercurrents, resulting in their deaths.

On receiving information about the incident, personnel from the Sirsi Rural Police, Fire and Emergency Services, and the Shri Marikamba Lifeguard Team rushed to the spot and launched a search operation. After sustained efforts, rescue teams recovered the bodies of both brothers from the water.

A case has been registered at the Sirsi Rural Police Station, and further investigation is underway.