PALAKKAD: Three young sisters drowned in a pond at Bheemanad near Mannarkad on Wednesday while their father stood there helplessly witnessing the whole incident. The deceased are Nasheeda, 26, Rameesha, 23, and Rinshy, 18, children of Akkara Rashid. They came to the house at Bheemanad as part of Onam vacation.
On Wednesday afternoon, the three went to take bath and wash their clothes in the pond -- Pookottukulam. The brother of the three is recuperating following kidney transplantation. It was the mother of the children, Asma, who had donated her kidney to her son. Since both were under treatment, it was their father who was looking after the daily chores.
It is learnt that Rinshy slipped into the pond first and as the other sisters tried to save her they too drowned. At the time of the incident, Rashid was putting washed dresses on the clothesline. When his children were struggling for their lives, he was unable to shout as he was dumbstruck. Seeing the sobbing father, migrant workers who came running alerted local people and carried out the rescue operation.
Though the trio was rushed to hospital, their lives could not be saved. Nasheeda and Rameesha were married. The pond is spread over one-and-a-half acres. Since only a few people reside in the vicinity, the incident did not come to the attention of the public.
The bodies have been shifted to the Taluk Hospital, Mannarkad, for postmortem examination. Mannarkad police have registered a case of unnatural death.