With the recovery of three more bodies on Saturday, the death toll in the Thekkady boat accident rose to 44. Search operations were continuing on Saturday afternoon for the recovery of one more body following the boat accident in the Mullaperiyar lake, about five km from the boat landing station at Thekkady.
The bodies recovered on Friday are those of Senthilkumari (36), wife of Rajasekharan — whose body was recovered on Wednesday evening. Their daughter Aishwarya's (5), body was recovered on Saturday. The family belonged to Chennai and was on a pleasure trip in Thekkady.
The body of Aparna (16), hailing from Hyderabad, was also recovered at the accident spot at Marakkanam on Saturday. Inclement weather and extreme cold and wind prevailed at the accident spot. The Indian Navy, assisted by the Police, Fire and rescue teams, and officials of the Forest Department are helping in the search operations.
The Mullaperiyar dam was closed on Wednesday to prevent the bodies from being washed away in the currents. Officials of the Revenue, Forest and Police were camping in the area to oversee the search operations and make arrangements for handing over the bodies to the relatives. Reports said relatives received the bodies of Senthilkumari and Aishwarya after the autopsies were conducted at the primary heath centre in Kumily.
The Kerala government had made arrangements to send the bodies of the victims to their respective places.