Three young students, including two siblings, drowned in Kaithapuzha lake under the Thevara-Kundannoor bridge in Kerala’s Ernakulam on July 5, Monday, after a fibre boat capsized. “The accident occurred while they were reportedly going to a friend's house. They were students, belonging to the age group of 18 to 22,” the police said. The deceased have been identified as Ashna Nawas (22) and her younger brother Adil Nawas (18), hailing from Perumbavoor in the district and a friend Ebin Paul (20). Another person on board the boat, identified as Praveen, a native of Konthuruthy, Ernakulam, was rescued by local residents. The incident took place around 4.30 pm, when they were going towards Konthuthuruthy from Nettoor.
The boat reportedly was a quite small one and capsized around 15 meters away from the spot where they boarded. It's suspected that severe undercurrents, strong winds and the small size of the boat led to the accident. The Panangad police have registered a case of unnatural death. The police said that the dead bodies are being kept at the Ernakulam General Hospital. "They were going to give a birthday cake to someone, when the tragedy occurred," a police personnel told TNM. Two of them had reportedly come to Nettoor to pick up the woman and her brother to take them to Konthuruthy. A local resident, Samu, residing near the accident spot, said that his daughter raised an alarm when she noticed the accident. Samu and his daughter were watering plants when the latter saw the youth drowning. "She raised an alarm and some boys who were playing nearby also raised an alarm. Soon, a man went to the spot and rescued one person," the Times of India quoted Samu as saying.