KATTAPPANA: A four-member team, who were off-road driving a jeep in the rain-flooded area, got stuck in the middle of the river. The incident took place at Kallattupara waterfall on Upputhara Kannampady road at around 3 pm on Wednesday. The jeep, which was driven into the strong current, was swept away. The people in the jeep narrowly escaped with their lives after the timely intervention of the locals.

The people from Malappuram and Palakkad regions who had reached the resort at Ottamaram Para in Kuvaleattam were stranded. The waterfall in Kallattupara is in several tiers. Adventure tourists drive vehicles on the flat rock below a waterfall. The flow here had increased since Tuesday due to heavy rain. According to police, tourists who had reached the other side in a jeep were swept away while trying to return after seeing the rising water level.

The vehicle was swept away by the strong current for about 50 meters. When the people there raised an alarm, the locals came to rescue the passengers and tied the vehicle with ropes.

The rescue operation was led by Parayil Shaji, Thadathinarikath Sunil, Cheruvalliyil Varghese, Ambat Ratheesh, Sathyan at Kalarikkal, Mandanal Saji, and Chembarathiyil Molly.