Couple From Andhra Among Three Drowned While Walking On A Frozen Lake In Arizona, USA

Three people of Indian origin were killed in the US state of Arizona after they slipped and drowned while walking on a frozen lake.

The victims have been identified as Narayana Muddana, his wife Haritha Muddana and Gokul Mediseti.

The incident happened on December 26 at Woods Canyon Lake in Coconino County.

FOX10

Family vacation turns tragic

The couple, their two children Pujitha and Harshitha, along with Mediseti, were on vacation when the tragedy struck.

Woods Canyon Lake is located east of Payson in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. It is an area popular among hikers, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

Authorities say deputies at the Forest Lakes Substation responded Monday afternoon to reports that a woman and two men fell through the ice while walking on Woods Canyon Lake.

Haritha was pulled out alive

Deputies and firefighters were able to find Haritha Muddana and pull her from the water. Despite administering life-saving measures, she was pronounced dead.

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The sheriff's office said that the two men were found dead on Tuesday afternoon.

Had visited India in June

"The missing men are located deceased and identified as Narayana Muddana, 49 and Gokul Mediseti, 47. The female victim has been identified as Haritha Muddana (age unknown). The three victims resided in Chandler, Arizona and are originally from India," Coconino County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to a statement released by officials with CCSO, "deputies stationed at a substation in the area were called to the lake after two men and a woman were walking on the frozen lake and fell through the ice."

Narayana and Haritha hailed from the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and had been living in Arizona for seven years.

The couple with their children had visited home in June this year.

Spoke to family hours before the death

Narayana's father, Venkata Subba Rao, said they spoke to Narayana over the phone on Monday and enquired about his well-being amid the winter storm in the US.

AFP

He, however, told his parents that there was not much impact in their area, adding that they were going on vacation due to the year-end holidays.

Snow storm kills 50 across US

Meanwhile, the death toll from the monster storm that killed dozens in the United States over the Christmas weekend has risen to over 50 after officials confirmed three more fatalities in western New York's Erie County.

AFP

The police department "expects that number to rise," tweeted Byron Brown, mayor of the lakeside county's biggest city Buffalo -- which has been paralyzed for five days by chest-deep snow banks and power outages.

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