KOTTAYAM: A 13-year-old girl drowned when the country boat she was travelling in collided with a passenger boat of the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) at Koladichira near Kumarakom on Monday morning. The deceased is Anaswara, the daughter of Ratheesh and Reshma from Vazheparambil house in Kareemadom in Aymanam village. Anaswara was a Class VII student at St Michael’s School in Vechur.
The accident occurred at approximately 8:15 am near the Koladichira boat jetty in the Pennarthodu stream at Kareemadom, while Anaswara was on her way to school with her mother and younger sister, Jiya. Anaswara’s grandfather, Mohanan, was rowing the country boat at the time.
As per the police report, the country boat capsized upon collision with the passenger boat, which was travelling from Cheepunkal to Maniyaparamb. Though Mohanan and Reshma managed to rescue Jiya, Anaswara tragically drowned. Her body was recovered by the Fire Safety and Rescue forces from Kottayam after a four-hour search operation.
In response to the incident, District Collector V Vigneswari has initiated an inquiry under Section 30 of the Disaster Management Act. The investigation will be overseen by the SWTD director, who has been directed to submit a report within seven days. Additionally, the Kottayam RDO has been instructed to conduct a preliminary inquiry and submit a report.