Three students drowned in an abandoned quarry in Pettamala, 4 km from Kurumppampady town near Perumbavoor, on Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased have been identified as Abhijith, 19, a student of aquaculture at St. Albert’s College, Ernakulam; Sravan, 17, a Plus Two student at Vidhaydhiraja Vidya Bhavan Higher Secondary School, Aluva; and Vinayak, 18, a B.Sc student at St. Paul’s College, Kalamassery. Another member of the group, Akshay, an engineering student, witnessed the tragedy. All four of them were residents of Kalamassery.
According to the Kodanad police, several people used to visit the abandoned quarries in the area.
The group of students ventured into the waters on Wednesday to take a dip. Abhijith, who did not know to swim, slipped into the quarry water, and Sravan and Vinayak jumped in to save him, the police said.
A five-member team from Perumbavoor fire and rescue station rushed to the scene, by which time the bodies of Sravan and Vinayak were fished out. A five member scuba team from Kothamangalam and Muvattupuzha arrived shortly thereafter and found the body of Abhijith.
“Slippery rocks and aquatic plants are present under water and it is not easy even for expert swimmers to escape if they get trapped. Even the scuba team found it tough to operate in those conditions,” said Shaji Sebastian, leading fireman at Perumbavoor station.
Rahul Sivan, a painting worker who was out fishing in the vicinity, recovered the first two bodies. He ran to the spot on hearing the commotion and found two bodies on the surface, which he brought to the shore. “Then another boy of the group told me that there was one more in the water. But it was dangerous to proceed beyond a point ,” said Mr. Sivan.
The bodies were taken to the Perumbavoor taluk hospital.
