Couple Drowns After Coracle Capsizes In River During Pre-Wedding Shoot, Bodies Recovered

A couple drowned after the coracle they were in capsized during their pre-wedding shoot.

The couple, along with a few family members, arrived on the banks of the Cauvery River in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on Monday for the photoshoot.

When they could not make arrangements for a boat, they decided to take photos in a coracle, which is a small saucer-shaped raft. The group crossed the river, and then the couple, 28-year-old Chandru and 20-year-old Shashikala, decided to go on a short ride in the coracle.

Unfortunately, the coracle capsized a few meters away from the bank and the couple drowned.

"After the group crossed the river and alighted from the coracle, the groom-to-be and bride-to-be went for a short ride in the coracle while their relatives were shooting photographs," a police officer told media outlet the Hindu.

"They had barely gone about 10 to 15 meters away from the bank when the groom-to-be stood up, causing the coracle to capsize. They did not know how to swim and drowned while the 52-year-old paddler managed to swim to safety," the officer added.

Police and professional swimmers arrived at the scene and their bodies were recovered following a four-hour search operation, the New Indian Express reported.

The couple was all set to get married Nov. 22.

A police case has been filed and an investigation into the drowning is ongoing.

The incident comes months after four people were swept away after a coracle capsized in the Krishna River in the southern Indian state of Telangana. Local reports stated 13 people were crossing the raging river when the boat capsized. While nine people were rescued by local fishermen, three women and a nine-year-old girl were swept away.

In another incident this year, a 30-year-old man drowned after the coracle he was rowing capsized in a lake in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The man, Kongepanda Machaiah, and his friend were going around the lake in a coracle when the boat overturned. While the friend managed to swim to the shore, Machaiah drowned.