Five persons, including four women related to each other, drowned in the Cauvery river near Muthathi in Mandya district of Karnataka on June 24 evening.

The deceased have been identified as Vijayamma, 50, Shwetha, 38, Chaitra, 20, and Priyanka, 28, who are all related to each other, and Mahesh, the driver of the car they travelled in.

A group of relatives had hired a car from Bengaluru to Muthathi on June 24. After offering prayers at the temples in Channapatna and Muthathi, they went to the Cauvery river for a dip.

Superintendent of Mandya district police V. J. Shobha Rani said Vijayamma was the first to lose her balance after being unable to make out the depth at a particular spot in the river. When she started drowning, others tried to rescue her, but their efforts went in vain. 

Along with Vijayamma, three of her relatives and the car driver also drowned.

Personnel from Fire and Emergency Services recovered the bodies, which were taken to a mortuary.