Kerala family on way to picnic at Ponmudi hills stops by river, 3 drown: Cop

Police said the tragedy took place when nine members of a family were on their way to Ponmudi hills, a hill station 50km from the capital city that is popular with picnickers.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three men including a policeman drowned in Kallar river in Thiruvananthapuram district on Tuesday trying to save a 12-year-old girl, a relative, police said.

The girl, however, managed to hold on to one rock and was eventually rescued by some local people (Photo: Facebook/Kallar)

Police said the incident took place when nine members of a family were on their way to Ponmudi hills, a hill station 50km from the capital city that is popular with picnickers. But they had to stop because a portion of the road to the hill station had caved in.

Some members of the family stepped into the river.

Police said when the little girl slipped, the others rushed to her rescue. Three of them were swept away in the swollen river.

The girl, however, managed to hold on to one rock and was eventually rescued by some local people. Police said the river is mostly shallow but the strong undercurrents and the depths at some places make it a very treacherous stretch, a reason why the administration has put up boards at the spot warning people not to venture into the river.

Police said the bodies of the three men were later pulled out by rescue workers.

The dead were later identified as M Firoz, M Zafan and Javed. Firoz is a policeman attached to the special armed police battalion in the state capital.