Three students from St Stephen's College in New Delhi and a resort owner from Kerala drowned in Periyar river at Paniyeli Poru — a popular tourist spot in the state — at around 6:30 pm on Friday. The police recovered their bodies and sent them to a government hospital at Perumbavoor.
The deceased were identified as third year Sanskrit students Anubhav Chandra and Aditya Patel, first year Chemistry student Kenneth Jose, and Benny Abraham, the resort owner.
Chandra belonged to Bihar while Patel hailed from Uttar Pradesh. Jose and Abraham belonged to Kerala, the police said. The students were a part of a group of 13 people, including two wardens, who had come to visit the tourist spots in the state.
"There were warning signboards against venturing into the water. Initial reports said they slipped on a rock near the water body and fell into the river. When one person slipped into the water, two other students tried to save him. But they, too, fell into the river. The resort owner, Abraham, was familiar with the river, but he too lost his life trying to save the others,'' the police were quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
Paniyeli Poru is known for being a death trap since it has dangerous clusters of slippery rocks and strong undercurrents. The tourist spot is located near Perumbavoor in Kerala's Ernakulam district.
St Stephen's College principal John Varghese confirmed the news of their death, saying that they are still trying to find out all the details of the incident.
"The students had gone as part of a college trip but these three-four students had gone away to a private resort where they met with this unfortunate accident. There will be a condolence meeting first thing in the morning tomorrow... We are trying to help out the parents in any way we can. We will share any details when we can," Varghese told the publication. "The college has two faculty members in Perumbavoor assisting families to handle procedures and do whatever is possible," he told ANI.
