THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 24-year-old, who was part of a 21-member group on a pilgrimage to Azhimala Siva temple near Chowara, drowned in the sea while taking a selfie standing on the shore on Sunday. Jyothish, son of Sukumaran of Jyothish Bhavan at Punalur in Kollam, was swept away by a huge wave around 3.35pm.
Jyothish was a photographer by profession. According to the police, the group came to the district to visit Sree Padmanabha Swamy, Attukal Devi and Azhimala Siva temples in the morning. After visiting the temples, they were about to go back after seeing the sea.
While taking selfies along with three others, Jyothish wanted to be more creative by taking a selfie with high waves as the backdrop. Jyothish went closer to the sea while the others stood at a safe distance. Suddenly, a huge wave lashed ashore and he was swept away. On hearing their noise, people in the vicinity rushed to the spot and informed the coastal police.
The coastal police recovered his body around 100 metres from the accident spot in 30 minutes. The police said the sea in the area is very rough and people have been given instructions to stay away. His body has been shifted to the Medical College Hospital mortuary for postmortem examination. The police have registered a case of unnatural death.