Khammam: A couple of days after three Ayurveda therapists from Kerala drowned during a weekend trip to the NSP canal at Danvaigudem, their bodies were fished out from the irrigation canal on Tuesday by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel after long search operations.
The deceased have been identified as Sonu Parakal (35), Abhay (25), and Vivek (22). They were swept away by swirling waters in the canal. Sonu and his 11 years old son and five others had gone to the NSP canal site on an evening stroll. When Sonu's son accidentally slipped into the canal. All three of them went for rescue but drowned one after the other.
Alerted by the locals, the Khanapuram Haveli police reached the incident site, and a search operation was launched. However, the bodies couldn't be traced. On Monday, NDRF personnel were called from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh to help the police in search operation.
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Maulana, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police who was part of the search operation team along with the NDRF told apdirect, "We along with the NDRF team scoured the canal up to a length of 10 km towards Venkatayapalem in two rescue boats till dusk."
He further shared that the NSP officials reduced the water flow in the canal at their request so that the search operation could be carried out.
Split into two teams and the local police; the NDRF personnel started the search operations in two small inflatable motor rescue boats early on Tuesday morning. The Hindu in their recent media update stated that the three-body was recovered from different locations near V V Palem and Pedagopathi villages more than 5 km away from Danavaigudem.
The family and friends of Sonu, who works as a senior manager in the Khammam branch of Ayurveda hospital, were inconsolable as his body was recovered.
Late Tuesday afternoon the body was recovered. His 11 years old son narrowly escaped from drowning following a timely rescue effort by youth from Kerala. The youth has been identified as Pradeep.
The postmortem of the bodies were carried on Tuesday and latter handed over to family and friends. According to a recent media report in The Hindu, the tragic death of the trio brought an abrupt end to their promising careers as Ayurveda therapists. The three of them had come to this Fort town from Kerala to promote natural therapies.
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