Five youths drown in Kerala

MUNNAR - Five youths visiting this picturesque tourist location, drowned Thursday while swimming in the Kundala dam here, police said.

The five were among eight youths from near the Technopark campus in Thiruvanthapuram, who arrived here Thursday morning on a day’s visit.

Police said that despite being warned not to swim in the dam because of undercurrents, they jumped in. One of them got trapped in the currents, and five others tried to rescue him but got trapped themselves.

Locals rescued one of them but could not save the others.

All the bodies were recovered by the evening. They have been kept in the government hospital near here and will be handed to their next of kin Friday after autopsy.

The dead have been identified as Ratheesh, 24, Rajesh, 21, Sreejith, 25, Bharath, 24 and Manu, 24.