Three Karnataka pharma students drown while bathing in Kannur's Payyambalam beach

KANNUR: Three pharmacy students from Karnataka drowned in the Payyambalam beach on Sunday. Afnan Ahmed (26), a native of Hassan, Mohammed Rahanuddin (26), a native of Bidar, and A. Mohammed Afroz (25), a native of Chitradurga, died in the incident. They were among a group of eight DPharm students from Al-Ameen College, Bengaluru, visiting Kannur.

The students drowned near Palliyammoola, Payyambalam, at 12 noon on Sunday. They were staying at a nearby resort and had gone to bathe in the sea. They reached the resort on Saturday night. Around 11 am, a group of eight students went for a swim, and six among them returned soon. The two students who were swimming suddenly got caught in waves and were dragged to the depths. The third person jumped in with the intention to save his friends, but didn’t return.

The other students who witnessed the incident screamed for help, which got the attention of the resort staff. Lifeguards and coast guards immediately brought Afnan Ahmed and Mohammed Rahanuddin to shore and admitted them to the district hospital, but their lives could not be saved. Later, during a search operation conducted by fishermen who arrived from Neerkadavu, the body of Mohammed Afroz was found at 1:30 pm.

The relatives of the students reached Kannur late at night after learning about the tragedy. The Azhikkal Coastal Police will conduct an inquest and hand over the body to the relatives after a postmortem.