5 teenagers die of asphyxiation after switching on generator in Raichur

March 18, 2017

Hubballi, Mar 18: Five teenagers, who allegedly switched on a diesel generator following a power cut on Thursday night, died of asphyxiation in Lingasuguru town of Raichur district on Friday. While four of them were found dead on the premises of Chetan Sound Office, a local sound engineering shop, the fifth person died in a hospital.

"When the shop was opened on Friday morning, four of them were found dead; the fifth person was still alive, struggling to breathe," said Lingasuguru police, who visited the spot and took stock of the situation. Suresh Gaddeppa Datar, 18, was rushed to a local hospital and later shifted to Bagalkot Hospital, where he died in the evening.

On Thursday, all five worked till midnight and then decided to stay back in the shop itself.

Power supply snapped some time in the night following a downpour. Police said the teenagers might have switched on the diesel generator to ensure uninterrupted power supply. "Prima facie, it looks like they died of asphyxiation after inhaling carbon monoxide emitted by the generator," said a police officer. "However, the real reason will be known only after a thorough probe," he added.

Police said all five were employed with Chetan Sounds, which also provides generator service in and around Lingasuguru. The four other deceased are Adappa Renukavva, 18, Moulali Buddesab, 18, Manjunath Shivaraj, 19 -all residents of Karadkal village - and Shashikumar Mahantesh, 18, of Yakranal village.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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