KOCHI: A student of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), hailing from Bihar, drowned in an abandoned swimming pool on the university campus on Thursday night. The deceased has been identified as Ravikumar, 23, son of Gayaprasad of Gaya Chowk, Bihar.
Ravikumar, a second year student of MFSc (Aquaculture), was staying at the hostel on the university campus. According to a friend of the deceased who is also a KUFOS student, he saw Ravikumar last at the hostel mess having food along with others. “Later, some of Ravikumar’s friends found him in the swimming pool in an unconscious state. Soon, he was rushed to a hospital, where he breathed his last,” he said. According to the police, there were four other students with Ravikumar when the incident took place. All of them are natives of others states, and are staying at the hostel. It is learnt that they had consumed beer before having food. They went to the poll around 11.00 pm.
“The university has banned students from using the pool. While Ravikumar was an expert swimmer, his friends do not know how to swim. The water level in the pool was around 7 feet. When the incident occurred, it took some time for Ravikumar’s friends to realise that he was drowning in the pool. Soon, they alerted the other students in the hostel,” said the police.