Three Dental Students Drown in Kerala River Outing

Overview

• The victims, all from Mar Baselios Dental College, died Sunday during a group bath at the Palavanpadi River near Kothamangalam.
• Police said one student slipped into a deep pocket with strong currents, prompting two friends to jump in and both were swept away.
• Residents, police, and Fire and Rescue recovered the trio around 2:15 pm, and a Kothamangalam hospital later confirmed their deaths.
• Kuttampuzha police registered an unnatural-death case, ordered postmortems for Monday, and began an investigation.
• Locals report sudden surges from the Idamalayar Dam can wash away sandbars, poor mobile coverage slows alerts and rescues, and two weeks earlier three nursing students drowned in the same river.