Mangaluru: A 28-year-old woman and her three-year-old daughter drowned in a stone-quarry pit filled with water at Horvarabettu at Yedthady village coming under Brahmavar police station limits in Udupi district on Saturday.

According to the the Brahmavar police, Kavitha alias Chandrika (28) had gone with her daughters Likhita (3) and eight-year-old Shilpa for washing clothes near the pond at Horvarabettu around 2 p.m.

While she was washing the clothes, Likhita and Shila were playing near the pond. But Likhita accidentally slipped into the water. Kavitha jumped into the water to save her.

Shilpa, who saw this, ran back to her house to call her relatives.

The house was located about 500 metres from the pond. Hence, before any help could reach there, both Kavitha and Likhita drowned in the pit.

In the meantime, the people informed the police. An expert diver, Manjunath Naik, managed to get out both the bodies from the pond by 5 p.m.

Quarrying was done at the pit, where the tragedy took place, about 20 years ago and it was located in a “patta land”, said Madhu T.S., sub-inspector attached to Brahmavar police station.

Kavitha was married to Veeresh, who worked at a stone quarrying unit, about six km away. Veeresh, who is from Bhadravati, had been living with his family at Yedthady for about five years.

A case of unnatural death had been registered at the Brahmavar police station.