Three drown in water-logged fields

The Fire and Rescue Services personnel on Monday (July 28) recovered the dead body of the third person who had gone missing in the Nellikkal Puncha fields near Koyikkal recently.

Officials said the body of Devan, a native of Kidangannur, was recovered in the afternoon following an intense search involving local residents and officials.

The mishap occurred around 6 p.m. on Sunday (July 27), when the small boat, carrying three individuals, overturned after being caught in a strong undercurrent. The bodies of Midhun Maroorparambil and Rahul C. Narayanan were recovered on Sunday night itself. They were taken to a hospital nearby where they were declared dead on arrival.

According to eyewitnesses, the boat capsized some distance away from the riverbank. Local residents who noticed the incident immediately rushed to help, following which the two individuals were found.

Fire and Rescue Services, along with scuba divers, resumed a search operation to locate Devan on Monday morning. The thick undergrowth of wild grass made the search extremely difficult. The scuba team members were unable to enter the dense grass to conduct the search. A few local residents also joined us intermittently in the search, using long poles to probe through the area.