THRISSUR: Two people drowned in Nedupuzha on Friday after the country boat they were travelling in capsized in a kole field amid heavy rain. The bodies were recovered on Saturday morning.
The deceased are Maliyekkal Nishad, 42 and Kizhakkoott Gireesh, 48, who were labourers assisting Sunil, a Nedupuzha native, in fish rearing.
Around 8pm on Friday, Sunil along with five others including his labourers, was returning home after feeding the fish they were rearing in the middle of kole fields.
As heavy rain poured, the boat capsized and all five fell into the water. While Sunil and three others managed to reach the banks, the other two went missing.
Local people gathered for rescue, but couldn’t trace the missing people. Though the Fire and Rescue Services team also arrived, the search operation was stopped as heavy rain continued. In the morning, the scuba team of the Fire and Rescue Services arrived and resumed the search.
“We had marked the spot where the boat capsized at night. The body was recovered near the boat itself. The Kole fields are muddy, and the presence of creeper plants and hyacinths make it difficult for one to swim across,” said an official with the Fire and Rescue Services team from Thrissur.
Even for local people, swimming through the muddy kole lands is difficult.
“In some areas, calculating the depth itself is difficult as it can be as high as three people. Sometimes people get entangled in the water plants as well,” said Nikhil, a local person.
