Two people are feared to have drowned and three escaped narrowly, when they swam along with a Durga idol into a lake at Kengeri to immerse it on Wednesday.
The victims have been identified as Somesh, 21, and Jeethu, 22, from Maharashtra, who had come to work as labourers at an under-construction apartment in Rajarajeshwarinagar.
The victims, along with Ratan Ram and two others, took the idol to Sunakalpalya lake on Uttarahalli Main Road in Kengeri on Wednesday evening.
The five swam along with the idol but only three returned. The others searched for Somesh and Jeethu before realising that they did not make it back, and informed the police.
The Kengeri police alerted the Fire and Emergency Services personnel, who initiated a search operation and called it off later owing to bad light. The search will continue tomorrow to trace the duo, a police officer said.
