Two drown in Pampa, bodies recovered

The Fire and Rescue Services personnel on Tuesday recovered the bodies of two 17-year-old boys who had gone missing in the Pampa river at Aithala near Ranni the previous evening.

The deceased have been identified as Chris Biju of Mylapra and Joshin Binu, native of Konni. The duo had reached Aythalakkadavu to celebrate a birthday when they were swept away by strong currents in the river. Both were in Class XII at the Mount Bethany school in Mylapra.

Chris and Joshin had reached Aithala on two wheelers along with eight other friends. When they first attempted to enter the river, people at the bank warned them to move to a safer spot upstream before getting into the water. However, ignoring the caution from their friends, Chris and Joshin stepped into the river and drowned within moments. Though the two others had attempted to enter the water to rescue them, but were restrained by the rest of the group

A scuba team from the Fire and Rescue Services began the search around 6 p.m. on Monday but had to suspend operations due to worsening weather conditions. The search resumed on Tuesday morning and the bodies were later recovered from the river and shifted to the hospital for post-mortem.

Police said the river was about 20 feet deep at the ghat, with water present only in certain sections of the stretch. ”Even those who regularly bath in the river and are skilled swimmers do not venture into the waters at the Kalarikkal ghat where these students went missing,” noted an official.