Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
Twenty-six-year-old model Divyanshu Joshi from Delhi who drowned in an abandoned quarry in Ernakulam on May 28, was scouting locations for an advertisement shoot without the required permission, officials said.
Authorities said that the access to the quarry had been restricted and that the filming was being carried out without informing them.
According to local residents, Divyanshu was standing near an area where people regularly wash clothes when he suddenly slipped and fell into the water. Reports said he fell into a deeper section of the quarry and was pulled out by residents from a depth of about 30 feet.
The incident occurred around 2.30 pm on May 28 at Pettamala in Mudakuzha, near Perumbavoor. Though he was rushed to Perumbavoor Taluk Hospital he was declared dead on the same day. Following a post-mortem examination, his body was flown back to Delhi on May 29.
Kodanad police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under unnatural death following the incident. Officials said no case has been registered against the advertising agency so far.
Speaking to TNM, Mudakuzha Grama Panchayat president Shaimy Varghees said that while there are 48 quarries in the area, the quarry where Divyanshu fell had been closed since 1997.
“The quarry pit is heavily restricted. It is nearly 100 feet deep. The water there is extremely deep and very cold. Even people who are good swimmers can find it difficult; if someone gets trapped in it, swimming back out can be very challenging,” she said.
She added that the panchayat does not permit anyone to enter or conduct shoots in such quarries.
According to Shaimy, four people died at the site in 2017. Since the land belongs to the Revenue Department, the panchayat has limited authority over it. However, following those deaths, it installed a gate and warning boards to prevent people from entering the quarry pool.
Sarin A S, Inspector of Kodanad Police Station, told TNM that there are several abandoned quarries in the area and that local authorities have fenced them off to prevent public access.
“But local residents still use that route and often wash clothes and bathe in those ponds. It was at this location that they had done the shoot,” he said.
