Heat wave: 5 dies in Karnataka's Raichur; moving car catches fire

Raichur/Karnataka: In Karnataka’s Raichur, death to extreme heat and sunstroke reached five after a resident of Jalibenchi village, 45-year-old Hanumanth, collapsed to death on Friday. He came home from his weekly temple visit and reportedly asked for drinking water first thing after entering his home, The Times of India (TOI) reported.

Also, the heat resulted in an incident of a car catching fire at Shaktinagar on Saturday. Four people died in Huda village, under Mukkunda gram panchayat of Sindhanur taluk due to heat and dehydration where temperatures reached 45 degrees Celcius. Veeresh Hanumanthappa Madiwal, 50, died on her way to wash clothes. Gangamma Devadasi, 60, and Pradeep Thimmanna Pujari, 15, a differently abled person, died in their sleep, Durgamma Hanumanthappa Uppar, 60, died of sunstroke

According to Prof Shantappa Duttaragamvi of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur Meteorological Unit, soaring heat for the last one week is causing severe issues in the district and temperatures touched 45 degrees Celsius on Saturday. According to him, temperatures will keep soaring till may 8 and advised that the public must stay indoors.

However, the district health officers (DHO) Dr Suresh Babu said that all the deaths reported are not due to heat alone. Some are related to illness too. But three deaths reported there were confirmed as heat related and a medical team is investigating these cases.

In another heat related incident, a moving car caught fire in Shaktinagar on the Raichur-Hyderabad high way. The driver immediately pulled over by the road side, but the car burnt to ashes once the fire and rescue reached the spot and doused the flame.