One drown in Vellayani lake

NEMOM: A boat capsized in Vellayani lake, drowning a person. Another passenger went missing.

The dead has been identified as Sharath Sekhar (33), son of Sekharan and Thanki from Vazhavila, Ookkodu. It was Satheesh (34), the son of Bhaskaran and Shyamala from the same area, who went missing.

The incident happened at Vazhavila lakeside on Tuesday at around 7 pm.

The two persons were among the team of five who had reached the lakeside. The mishap occurred 100 metre off the coast.

Hearing loud cries of the onlookers, locals rushed to the spot and started the rescue work. Sekhar could be fished out of water but by that time he was dead. The other person could not be found and the search is on for him.

It was one Sudheesh who took the initiative for the rescue work but he had to be later admitted to hospital as he developed some discomfort. Though Fireforce personnel later reached the spot, their operation got hampered by bad weather and darkness.