Gadag, Sep 29 (IANS): In a heart-wrenching incident, a housewife tried to kill her three daughters and herself by jumping into a river on Wednesday following the death of her husband due to coronavirus in Gadag district of Karnataka.

Two daughters managed to escape from the clutches of their mother while the Fire Brigade and Emergency Service personnel are still searching for the 2-year-old third child. The mother was rescued by the team 3 kilometres away from the spot where she had jumped into the river.

According to the police, Umadevi, a housewife residing in Holealur village in Rona taluk, lost her husband Sangamesh 6 months ago to corona. Sangamesh was a teacher in an aided school.

Not being able to cope with the situation after the death of her husband, Umadevi decided to end her life and also thought of killing her three daughters.

The two daughters who escaped said that their mother Umadevi took them to the overflowing Malaprabha river at about 4 a.m. in the morning.

When they reached near the river, the daughters got scared and begged their mother not to do anything to them. One of them ran away while the mother tried to seize the hair of another and push her into the river.

The second daughter, however, also managed to escape. Umadevi then jumped into the river with her 2-year-old third daughter. Meanwhile the two girls rushed back to the village and informed the elders about the incident.

Soon, the police, fire and emergency service personnel rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation. After 6 hours of searching, they found Umadevi stuck in some thorny bushes three kms from the spot where she had jumped into the river.

The search operation is still on to find her third daughter. Umadevi has been admitted to a hospital. The police are investigating.