Last body to be fished out of Periyar lake is city's only victim of the boat tragedy. He was to wed in dec
Last body to be fished out of Periyar lake is city's only victim of the boat tragedy. He was to wed in dec
At 11.30 pm on Thursday, Anand Makkeri's ageing parents, Gurunath (68) and Vidya (64) opened the door of their JVPD apartment and saw policemen standing there.
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They then received news that no parent should have to hear. Their son was dead, his body recovered that afternoon from the lake in the Periyar wildlife sanctuary, one of the 41 victims of Wednesday's boat tragedy.
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The body of the senior sales manager, just 37, was brought home in a coffin yesterday.
Missing complaint
IGP (Ernakulam) Vinson Paul said Anand's was the last body to be fished out on Thursday afternoon.
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"We received a missing persons complaint in the morning and later his relative Ashok Ayyappan identified the corpse at the Kumili primary health centre," said Paul.
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Lost Battle: Rescue personnel use ropes to pull the vessel to shore at the Thekkady Tiger reserve, on Wednesday. The mishap occurred when tourists rushed to one side of the vessel to catch a glimpse of a herd of wild elephants causing the boat to capsize. |
Ayyappan, who is from Thiruvananthapuram said, "Anand was on a backwaters holiday with three friends.
All the three are fortunate to be alive, but Anand was not so lucky." His relatives claimed he knew swimming but was trapped inside the boat, which led to his death.
Ayyappan added that that four men had come to Thekkady from Munnar and checked in to Hotel High Range Residency.
At 4 pm, they booked themselves on the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation's boat for sightseeing at the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
The accident happened on their way back at 5 pm. "He (Anand) knew swimming, but could not save himself. We believe he was trapped inside the boat," said Ayyappan.
Deadly Boat RideThe boat had glass windows due to which people could not escape. It was in a poor condition and too narrow to accommodate 76 tourists.
Survivors pointed out that nobody had been given any guidelines to be followed in case the boat capsized.
My wife and I had told him not to go on the holiday, as there was barely any time to go shopping for his wedding on December 2.
But he didn't listen to us and said he would not be able to holiday with his friends after his marriage. My wife has stopped talking and eating.
Gurunath Makkeri (68), the father
I couldn't sleep on Wednesday night when I heard of the incident. The next day, I heard my brother was dead.
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His fiance is also in shock. My brother was very close to me and had called me to ask what he should buy for his fiance from Kerala."
Neeta, the sister
