Three persons were killed when a car with five passengers from Kerala plunged into a canal at Gedimedu, near Pollachi, on Sunday morning.
While one was rescued from the car, which fell into the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) canal that passes through the area, the fifth person went missing.
The deceased have been identified as Jithin Joy, 24, Jackson, 21, and Amal, 20.
Alfa, 19, was rescued as he managed to come out of the car. Rijo Johny, 27, is missing.
The bodies of Jithin, Amal and Jackson were retrieved. Alfa was rescued by the driver of a truck, who was bathing by the canal. All five are natives of Angamaly in Ernakulam district of Kerala.
The accident took place around 6.40 a.m., when the five-member group was returning from Munnar.
The police said thecarinitially hit the railing of a bridge across the canal at Gedimedu near Gomangalam on the Pollachi-Palani Road, before plunging into the canal, which had a water level of 11 feet.
Fire and rescue services teams from Udumalpet and Pollachi rushed to the spot. The vehicle was pulled out using a crane. Jithin, Amal and Jackson were found dead inside the car. The police said Jithin was driving the car at the time of the accident. The bodies of the victims were handed over to relatives