The body of Mathrubhumi Thiruvalla bureau driver Bipin Babu who had gone missing after the boat which was carrying a five-member crew of the TV channel capsized on Monday, has been recovered.
A search team found the body around 300m away from the spot of the incident on Tuesday.
He was employed as a driver at Mathrubhumi Thiruvalla unit for the past three years.
Relatives have identified Bipin’s body, which will be taken to Kottayam Medical College. Post-mortem and other medical procedures will be conducted on Wednesday.
On Monday, the boat which was carrying five members of the Mathrubhumi news channel capsized in Mundar. While three members were rescued, one body had been recovered and the search for the fifth person was still on.
KK Saji, who worked as a freelancer for Mathrubhumi, was found dead. Three other media persons, Thiruvalla Bureau camera person Abhilash S Nair, Kottayam reporter KB Sreedharan, and KP Abhilash, who was rowing the boat, were rescued.
According to Mathrubhumi, the crew had gone to cover relief camps in Mundar and had travelled in two small boats, which had motor engines. The reporting team had reached Mundar to cover the relief camps in Parayil Colony. Mundar falls under the Kallara panchayat in Kottayam and is the worst hit by the rains.
The team was on their way back in a boat when it capsized in the deep end of the Kariyar river. They were able to hold on to the boat for some time, but before the rescue team could come, Bipin and Shaji were swept away by strong currents. The other three managed to climb on to the boat and were rescued by the Navy, fire and rescue personnel and a scuba team.
After the incident, Mathrubhumi released photographs, in which it appears that the crew had not worn any life jackets.