Three St Stephen’s Delhi students drown in Kerala river

Three students from Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and a resort owner from Kerala drowned in the Periyar river in the state on Friday evening, police said.

Three students from Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and a resort owner from Kerala drowned in the Periyar river in the state on Friday evening, police said.

Three students from Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and a resort owner from Kerala drowned in the Periyar river in the state on Friday evening, police said.

Third year Sanskrit students Anubhav Chandra and Aditya Patel, first year Chemistry student Kenneth John, and Benny, a private resort owner from Kerala, drowned around 6.30 pm at Paniyeli Poru — a tourist spot.

The bodies were recovered and kept at the Taluk hospital at Perumbavoor, police said.

Chandra hailed from Bihar and Patel belonged to Uttar Pradesh, police said. Kenneth John was a resident of Wayanad in Kerala.

In Delhi, St Stephen’s College principal John Varghese said, “St. Stephen’s College deeply saddened by the demise of three of its students who were on a trip to Kerala. Aditya Patel and Anubhav Chandra were in their final year of the undergraduate programme and Kennet Jose had just joined College. The entire college community joins the bereaved families in this tragic moment.”

Police said the students had come to Kerala as part of a group of 11 students and 2 wardens to visit famous tourist spots.

The incident occurred at Paniyeli Poru, a tourist spot where the river has dangerous clusters of slippery rocks, near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, police said.

The spot is known for its death traps for tourists because of strong undercurrents, though the water is only few feet deep, police said.