On Holiday In Kerala, 3 St Stephen's College Students From Delhi Drown In River

Thiruvananthapuram: Three students from Delhi's famous St Stephen's College, who were on a holiday trip to Kerala, have drowned in the Periyar River in Ernakulam district. A local resort owner who was with them drowned as well.

Senior police officials said that Anubhav Chandra from Bihar, Aditya Patel from Uttar Pradesh and Kenneth Jose from Kerala's Wayanad drowned as their group watched helplessly. There were 13 people in the group.

"The incident happened around 5:30 pm in rural Ernakulam on Friday. The area has signposts saying dangerous as a warning. The inquest is underway currently and the statements of the rest of the students group will be taken," the local police station informed NDTV.

According to reports, the private resort owner's daughter also studied in St Stephen's College.

Anubhav and Aditya were third year Sanskrit students, while Kenneth was a first year Chemistry student.

"This is a moment of great sorrow for us. This was part of college trip. A warden was accompanying the children... They went away from the group. One student was drowning and others died while saving him," Professor John Varghese, St Stephen's principal told NDTV this morning.

The bodies of all four have been recovered and kept at the Taluk hospital at Perumbavoor, police said.

The incident occurred at Paniyeli Poru, a tourist spot where the river has dangerous clusters of slippery rocks, near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, police said.

Meanwhile, a forest officer in charge told NDTV that the group had decided to go to a private unmanned area after they were denied entry to the main eco tourism area.

The spot is known for its death traps for tourists because of strong undercurrents, though the water is only few feet deep, police added.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)