US: Three Indian Americans die after falling in frozen lake in Arizona

Washington [US], December 28 (ANI): Three Indian Americans, including a woman, have died after falling through the ice while walking on a frozen lake in Arizona, the Coconino County administration announced in a statement.

The incident took place at Woods Canyon Lake and the bodies have been recovered. The deceased men have been identified as Narayana Muddana, 49 and Gokul Mediseti, 47.

The woman has been identified as Haritha Muddana. In a statement issued on December 27, Coconino County said that the deputies from the Forest Lakes Substation responded to Woods Canyon Lake at 3:35 pm (local time) for the report of three people, including two males and one female who were walking on the frozen lake and fell through the ice.

“The missing men have been located deceased and have been 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, AZ and are originally from India.,” Coconino County Arizona announced in a statement.

Responding deputies and fire units were able to pull the female from the water and took life-saving measures. However, the female’s life could not be saved. The search operation continued for the two male individuals who had also fallen in the lake. Deputies used a boat to conduct an expanded search of the area, the Coconino County Arizona announced in a statement and added that the two male victims had been found.

According to CNN, at least 52 storm-related deaths have been reported across several states in the United States, including New York, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin. Snowfall in Buffalo city of New York reached 100 inches by Tuesday morning, making it the fastest the city has ever witnessed.

More than half of the season’s record-pace snowfall has come since Friday and it is already the third snowiest December on record. According to flight tracking site FlightAware, around 3,000 flights within, into or out of the US were cancelled as of Tuesday afternoon while 3,809 were delayed, as per the CNN report.

Peter Anderson, the press secretary for Erie County Executive C Poloncarz said that the firefighter teams in Buffalo, New York, have been facing challenges in tackling flames due to weather conditions, as per the CNN report. According to Anderson, at least 31 people have been displaced due to the fire in Buffalo.