Iritty: The bodies of the two female students who drowned in the Padiyoor Poovam river were recovered on Thursday. The deceased were identified as Shaharbana (28), a final year psychology student from Edayannur studying at a private college in Irikkur and Suriya (21) from Ancharakandi. While Shaharbana's body was recovered on Thursday morning, Suriya's body was found in the afternoon.
The incident occurred around 4 pm on Tuesday. After visiting a classmate's house at Padiyoor Poovam, the duo took photos and videos with their mobile phones on the riverbank before entering the water near the water authority's tank. Some fishermen and a water authority employee atop the tank attempted to dissuade them. However, they were swept away by the current by then.
While one of the students became entangled in fishermen's nets in the river, she was swept away by the current while they were attempting to bring the net ashore. Despite extensive efforts by the fire rescue team's scuba divers, the students could not be rescued.