From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 04:32 PM IST

Driven by abject poverty, four members of a family committed suicide by jumping into a canal near Satara in Maharashtra, the police said Friday.

Prakash Mallari Jadhav, 47, a farm worker, jumped into the Neera-Ujwa Canal at Nimbhore village, around 10 km from Satara, Thursday evening, along with his wife, Lata, 35, and three children, Suvarna, 7, Tejasvi, 5, and Datta, 3.

After getting information about the incident, a police team launched rescue operations with the help of villagers and managed to rescue Jadhav's eldest daughter, Suvarna.

They also retrieved the body of Datta.

The other three bodies may have been pulled downstream in the overflowing canal, the police said.

The police in the neighbouring Solapur district and villages bordering the canal have been alerted.

Jadhav, working as a farm labourer, was ailing for sometime and could not work. He had also taken a small loan, the police said.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)