THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Actor Anil Nedumangad, who drowned in the Malankara Reservoir while taking a bath, was rescued alive, said friends who were with him at the time of the incident. However, his friend Arun Raj, a native of Pala, told the media that he died before reaching the hospital.

Anil was swimming in the pool with his friends at 5 pm on Christmas day when he drowned in a deep ravine. Friends informed the neighbors and a local youth arrived within minutes and brought Anil ashore. Anil was alive when he was taken to the ambulance. Anil was rushed to a private hospital in Thodupuzha from the dam site but had died by then. Doctors say Anil was dead when he was brought to the hospital.

Anil came to Thodupuzha to act in the movie Peace starring Joju George. Arun and another friend came here from Pala to celebrate Christmas. They then went to the dam site near the shooting location to take a bath. Arun says that Anil knew how to swim.