Sreejith still not found; coastal police and marine enforcement scour Vizhinjam for missing homeo doctor

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 29-year-old homoeopathic doctor from Wayanad went missing after being swept into the sea by a powerful wave at Vizhinjam early Monday morning. The missing youth has been identified as Sreejith, son of Selvaraj and Aathira, residing near Valliyoorkkavu in Payyampally, Wayanad. His companion, H.N. Vijay, 24, a native of Alappuzha and a student at the Nemom Vidyadhiraja Homoeopathy Medical College, managed to survive the accident.

The incident occurred around 4:45 AM near the Vizhinjam Bollard Pull Test Centre. Sreejith had completed his Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) course just three months ago and was practising at a homoeopathic hospital in Anayara. He had travelled from Wayanad to the capital city on Sunday to attend the wedding of his friend Gokul, a resident of Pravachambalam. According to family members, Sreejith and a group of seven friends, including junior students from his college hostel, had initially set out to buy flowers from the Chala market, making a detour to Vizhinjam along the way.

Upon reaching the coast, one member of the eight-person group remained inside their car while the other seven sat on the concrete railings near the shore. Sreejith and Vijay crossed over the railing near the test centre to step down onto the rocks behind it. A sudden, massive wave crashed against the rocks, knocking both of them off their feet. While Vijay fell onto the rocks and managed to hold on, Sreejith was swept away into the sea. Vijay later stated in his police testimony that Sreejith had completely disappeared from sight by the time he recovered from the impact and stood up.

The local fire and rescue services were alerted immediately after the group realised Sreejith was missing. The Vizhinjam Coastal Police and Marine Enforcement personnel conducted an extensive search operation throughout the day, though their efforts yielded no results by Monday evening. Coastal authorities stated that the search operations would resume on Tuesday morning. Sreejith is survived by his parents and his brother, Abhijith.