Late on Sunday night, seven men ventured in the Banasura dam reservoir in Kerala's Wayanad district, reportedly for fishing. Minutes later, their boats capsized and only three of them managed to swim ashore to safety.
Three days after the incident, the bodies of the four missing men are yet to be recovered.
Incident
According to reports, seven men went fishing into the reservoir at around 11pm on Sunday night. Officials told TNM that six men from Kozhikode, who were touring Kalpetta, went to the dam site on Sunday for fishing. The group had gone there with the help of a local person. The group ventured into the water in two separate coracles, tied to each other with a rope. Some half an hour after they set out, both the boats are said to have capsized. While three of them managed to swim back to the shore, Binu (42), Melbin (34), Sachin (20) and Wilson, the local person who accompanied them, drowned.
The police and rescue personnel were pressed into search operation soon after the incident, but they were unable to recover the bodies. On Monday, after carrying out search operation the entire day, the police had to call off the operation, as the weather was not favourable. Heavy wind and continuous rain made it difficult for the search team to carry out operations.
According to reports, the men had ventured out into the water without taking prior permission.
Padinjarathara Sub Inspector Aboobacker P A was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express: “The strong winds and heavy rain are hampering rescue operations. Navy divers will join the search on Tuesday morning.”
However, at the time of publishing, the search team had not recovered the bodies.
The three, who managed to swim to safety- Chittilapilly Joby, Nooranthodu Jobin and Pulakudiyil Midhun, were admitted to the hospital for first aid and later discharged.