Driver goes missing after auto-rickshaw overturns into stream in Thiruvananthapuram; wife rescued miraculously

POTHENCODE: An auto-rickshaw carrying a couple overturned into a stream amidst heavy rain in Vattappara on Sunday. The driver of the autorickshaw went missing while residents rescued his wife.

The couple involved in the accident are Vidyadharan (65), of Panthadivila Veedu, and his wife Lathakumari (60), a former member of the Vembayam Grama Panchayat. The incident occurred yesterday at 6:30 PM on a side road leading from Kuttiyani (Vattappara) toward Vettinad. The couple were on their way to attend a wedding ceremony in Vettinad.

The accident happened when the auto-rickshaw driver tried to change routes after it became difficult to recognise the road from the stream. While reversing, the vehicle fell into the stream and the occupants were thrown into the water. Residents managed to locate and rescue Lathakumari, who was found 35 meters away from the scene of the accident; they pulled her out by grabbing her hair as she was being swept along by the strong current. However, Vidyadharan could not be found, even late into the night. The Vettinad stream eventually joins the Vamanapuram River.

Fire Force teams from the Nedumangad and Venjaramoodu units, along with the Vattappara police and residents, conducted a search until late into the night.