Two teens drown in Vagamon check dam

KOTTAYAM: Two teenaged boys, who were on a sightseeing trip to Vagamon from a church in Changanassery, drowned in the reservoir of a check dam in Mottakunnu area of Vagamon grasslands in Idukki on Saturday.
Police identified the boys as Mathew (14), son of James, Vettiyadu, Bhagavathiparambil, Naalukodi, and Shaun Suby Antony (13), son of Joseph, Thundiparambil, Naalukodi.Both of them were part of a 35-member team from the Sunday school of St Thomas Church, Naalukodi.
Vagamon police said the students were accompanied by a priest, a nun and a teacher.
They had reached the grasslands in the afternoon and the boys were walking on the check dam when Mathew slipped and fell into the lake.
Shaun, who was following him, tried to prevent him from falling. However, both fell into the lake.
Police said though the lake was not very deep, the bottom was slushy and the water cold. The security personnel of DTPC, who were present at a distance, rushed to the place.
They managed to rescue Mathew, who was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.
The body of Shaun was fished out a little later, and it was taken to a private hospital in Vagamon for inquest. The bodies were later brought to medical college hospital here for post-mortem examination.
Two tourists were killed in the region after they were hit by lightning in the same region in August last year.