Overview
- About 14 people from Shirali in Bhatkal taluk entered the Tatte Hakkalu/Kalinatti estuary to collect mussels and were swept into deeper water on Sunday when water levels rose suddenly.
- Rescue teams and local fishermen recovered 10 bodies on May 24 and officials reported a further body recovered on May 25, bringing the toll to 11 with one person still reported missing and three survivors hospitalized.
- Authorities said overnight rain combined with high tide created a sudden inflow and strong currents that caught the group standing on the estuary floor without boats or safety gear.
- Police have registered an accidental-drowning case and NDRF teams, coastal security, fire and local police continue searches while the state and central governments announced ex-gratia relief of ₹5 lakh from Karnataka and ₹2 lakh plus PMNRF aid from the Prime Minister.
- Collecting shellfish from exposed estuary flats is a common seasonal livelihood in coastal Karnataka and this incident highlights how misjudged tide timing and sudden rain-driven surges can rapidly turn shallow foraging into deadly currents.