KOVALAM: Two youths drowned after falling in Vizhinjam Azhimala beach in the early hours of Monday. Retired at Payat Wild Crop Skyline Road Hillview Garden. Retired Sales Tax Officer Padmakumar. The deceased have been identified as Prashanth P Kumar, 29, son of retired sales tax officer Padmakumar, and retired teacher Girija Devi residing at Hillview Garden in Skyline Road in Payad Kattuvila and Ashwin Theji, 29, son of retired bank officer Chandrahasan and Reeja, residing in Navarag in Balaramapuram's Ramapuram. The youths came to the beach with two other women working in a private resort nearby. A woman who fell into the sea with them escaped with injuries. The accident took place at 6 am on Monday.

According to the police, the youths reached Azhimala in a car along with two young women, who are natives of Arunachal Pradesh, at around 2 am on Monday. After parking their vehicle near the Azhimala temple, they spent hours on the cliffs of the beach. At 6 o'clock in the morning, Prashanth and a woman fell into the sea due to a strong wave. The woman was then dragged ashore by Ashwin and the second woman. The women said that Ashwin jumped into the sea to save Prashanth who was caught in the waves. Locals and fishermen searched the area but could not find the two.

Prashanth's body was found around 9 in the morning after a search by the Coast Guard and Marine Enforcement. Ashwin's body was found trapped in a rock around 1.30 pm. The bodies will be released today after post-mortem at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. Both are unmarried. Prashant is an employee of a private TV channel. Vaishakh and Sarath are his brothers. Ashwin is an employee of a private company in Bengaluru. Anurag is his only brother. Vizhinjam CI Ramesh said that a case has been registered for unnatural death.