KOCHI: Two persons including a teenage girl died after they got trapped in the turbulent waters of the Chalakudy River, when a family of five persons went for bathing near Manjaly in North Paravur on Sunday.
Jwala Lakshmi (13), daughter of Vinu of Chemmanattu House, Kodakara, and Megha (27), daughter of Rahul of Kuttikattuparambil House, Puthenvelikkara were the deceased. Another woman Neha (20), sister of deceased Megha, was rescued by a local resident.
The accident happened when the five girls, along with an elder member of the same family, were taking a bath in the river on Sunday morning. All members from the group entered the river near Kozhithuruthu Bund, Puthenvelikkara.
When three of them moved further into the river to collect clams, they were trapped in the deep pit and met with an accident, police said. The remaining two girls cried for help which initiated the locals to rush to their rescue.
"The family members had come to attend the posthumous ceremony of a relative in Elenthikara. The two deceased were the nieces of the Bijosh, who went with the girls for the swim," said an official of the Fire and Rescue station, North Paravur.
The bodies were recovered after around one-and-half hours of rescue operation by the fire and rescue team and scuba divers," the officer added.
"The girl, who survived the accident, was admitted to Sree Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences at Chalakka. She is in a medical ICU with ventilator support," said an official of Puthenvelikkara police station.
The reports say that the health condition of the girl is stable and out of danger," he added.