THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 21-year-old drowned and his friend went missing in Neyyar River amidst high water flow due to the opening of the Neyyar dam shutters on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Manikantan, 21, son of Murugappa Pillai of Thekkekalathara veedu, Iravur, Aryanad. The missing person was identified as Adarsh, 21, son of Saseedharan Pillai of SR Bhavan, Keezhattingal.
The duo, studying at Neyyatinkara Polytechnic College, had come to the house of their classmate Anoop at Arattukadavu. After lunch at around 3.15pm, they ventured into the bathing ghat here and were caught in the current. The local residents alerted police and Fire and Rescue Services.
While Manikantan’s body was found, the search operation for Adarsh was called off due to poor light in the evening. “The Neyyar dam shutters were open since the past two days. Sufficient warnings were given and local residents were aware of the high water flow,” said officials attached to Neyyar dam police station.
