Four family members, including IG's driver, drown in Karamana river

ARYANAD: Four including a police driver, his son and family members drowned off Karamana river in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. Anilkumar(50), his son Amal (13), Advait (22) and Anand (25) died in the incident. Advaith is the son of Anilkumar’s brother Sunilkumar while Anand is the son of Anilkumar’s sister Sripriya. Anilkumar is the driver of IG Harshita Attaluri.

Akhil, another son of Anilkumar, and Anantaraman, son of Sunilkumar, miraculously escaped death by swimming across the river. The accident took place at Varipara Wharf near Moonnattumukku at 4.30 pm on Sunday. As the shutter of Peppara Dam was open, the river was witnessing a high current. With zero know-how of the tides, the family members jumped for a dip and realized the blunder.

The accident took place while family members tried to save Anand who was swept away by the river. Akhil and Anantaram escaped to the shores and gave loud cries for help which caught the attention of the locals. The fire force team from Nedumangad reached and took out the dead bodies.

Sunilkumar and Sripriya reached Anilkumar’s house in Aryanad with their children at 11 am on Sunday. After lunch, the family went to Anilkumar’s farm in Moonnattumukku to fertilize the land. After the work, the family decided to take a dip in the river.

After the inquest, the dead bodies were shifted to the medical college hospital mortuary for post-mortem. Amal is a 7th-class student of Amrita Kairali Vidyalaya in Nedumangad. Anand was preparing for the bank job exam and Advait was a LLB student.

Anilkumar leaves behind his wife Saritha. Advait's mother: Mini (Secretariat Assistant), sister Abhirami. Anand's father is Sanal, an employee of Chennai Airport and his brother is Arvind.