Malappuram: Six children, four of them girls, drowned when a country boat carrying nine capsized at Naranippuzha near Changaramkulam in the district on Tuesday. The local people have rescued two others. The tragedy took place around 5:30 pm in the backwater part of Biyyam Kayal. Five of the dead were close relatives. The victims have been identified as Adidev,8, Adhinath, 14, Jenisha, 10, Prasanna, 12, Pooja, 14 and Vaishna, 17.
The children were fished out by Fire and Rescue team along with local rescuers and rushed to a private hospital in Changaramkulam where they were declared brought dead. Later the bodies were taken to Government Taluk Hospital in Ponnani for the autopsy on Wednesday. Vaishnav's father Velayudhan Mappilakkal who led the boat managed to swim to safety. Shivangi, 17 and Fatima, 14, were rescued and rushed to the same hospital in Changaramkulam. Velayudhan, who was said to be in serious condition, was later shifted to another hospital in Thrissur.
According to local people, the children ventured into the river in the wooden boat to see the water flow of a broken bund in the Naranippuzha. People who took part in the rescue operation said that the tragic spot was muddy and largely avoided by local people due to safety concerns. The cause of the incident is suspected to be the current due to the broken bund.
The Ponnani Tehsildar G. Nirmal Kumar, who visited the spot, has announced Rs one lakh to be released for the families of the dead from Chief Minister’s relief fund. The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has ordered a probe into the incident after registering case suo moto followed by media reports. The rights panel has asked district collector and district police chief to submit a report within three weeks.
