COIMBATORE: Three Kerala youth were killed when the car they were travelling in fell into a canal at Kedimedu, near Pollachi, on Sunday.
While the deaths of Jithin Joy, 24, Jackson, 24, and Amalraj, 20, were confirmed, police suspect another occupant, Rijo, 24, was washed away in the strong currents. K Krishnamurthy, DSP of Pollachi, told Express that chances of surviving looked bleak for Rijo as the current was strong.
Alfa, 19, was miraculously saved by a lorry driver in the nick of time. A source said the five friends were returning after a trip to Munnar.
Joy, a software engineer in Dubai, had come to Kerala for a holiday and was driving the car. When they were near Kedimedu on Udumalai-Pollachi Road, he lost control of the car and rammed it into the retaining wall of a narrow bridge and plunged into the canal.
A holiday bash took an awry turn for five Kerala youth when the car they were travelling in veered off the road, broke the parapet of Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) canal near Kedimedu and tumbled into the water body, drowning three, near Pollachi on Sunday. While three deaths were confirmed, police suspect that another occupant was washed away in the strong currents. A 19-year-old occupant of the car was saved by a lorry driver in the nick of time.
Sources said that five friends -- Alfa (19), a native of Angamaly in Ernakulam, Jithin Joy (24), Jackson (24), Amalraj (20) and Rijo (24) -- were returning after a trip to Munnar. Joy, a software engineer in Dubai, had come to Kerala for a holiday and was behind the wheels. When they were near Kedimedu on Udumalai-Pollachi Road, Joy lost control over the wheels and rammed into the retaining wall of a narrow bridge and plunged into the canal.
A lorry driver, Karthikeyan from Mannargudi, was bathing along the shore when the accident took place. On seeing the car sink, Karthikeyan swam towards the site and rescued Alfa in the nick of time as moments later the car was submerged. Later, Karthikeyan told reporters that though he spotted Alfa and Rijo, he could rescue Alfa alone. Miraculously, Alfa was uninjured in the incident.
On information, the Gomangalam police and fire and rescue personnel from Udumalai and Pollachi started rescue operations. After three hours of struggle, the car was fished out and bodies of three occupants were found. Vehicular traffic on the spot was affected for sometime as passers-by stopped over to watch the rescue operations unfold.
According to T Purosothaman, a fire officer from Pollachi, “Our team searched for Rijo for over a radius of three km but could not trace him. We suspect that he was washed away till the shutter of the dam.”
K Krishnamurthy, DSP of Pollachi, told Express that chances of surviving looked bleak for Rijo as the current was strong and they were waiting for 12 more hours to fish out the body. “We suspect Jithin Joy lost control over the vehicle while maneuvering the narrow bridge at Kedumedu. We handed over the bodies to the relatives of the deceased in the evening,” he said.