Bantwal  : Aboobakker Siddique (32) , a resident of Guruvayanakere who went to the Netravathi river to wash himself before going to the mosque for namaz, slipped and drowned on October 2, Wednesday.

It is learnt, he was engaged in the construction of a compound wall near a tourist guest house. Some locals who saw him drowning though plunged into the river to rescue, it was a futile exercise. The fire service men too arrived late despite much to the ire of the locals. The body of  the labourer was retrieved in the evening.

A case of unnatural death has been registered by the Bantwal police.