Kottayam: Three of a family drowned in Muvattupuzha river at Veloor near Vaikom on Sunday.

Fire Force personnel recovered the bodies by Sunday noon. The deceased are 55-year-old Johnson from Arayankavu, his nephew Aloshy (16) and niece Jismol (15), Manorama News reported.

It is learnt that Johnson and Aloshy jumped into the river after the 15-year-old girl fell into the river. The trio drowned after getting trapped in the strong current.

They were part of a seven-member team that reached the river ghat to bathe.

Johnson's brother Jobi Mathayi, sisters Mini, Suni and Jobi's wife Soumya were the others who accompanied the trio. Among them, Joby is the father of Jismol who drowned in the river. Aloshy is the son of Suni.

The natives rushed to the spot after the relatives sought their help. 

The bodies were recovered in a joint search operation by Fire Force, residents and Police. As the trio drowned in the deep area of the river, the search operation went on for hours.