Malappuram: The death toll in the flash flood at the Kottapuzha River near Pookkottumpadam in Nilambur rose to five on Monday, with the bodies of two more victims recovered during a search operation in the morning. One person remains missing.

­At least six people were swept away when a sudden surge of water hit the river near the Ularvattam-TK Colony stretch around 5pm on Sunday. Three others were rescued.

The deceased have been identified as Parannaparamban Muhammed Kutty (65) of Tirur, Mangadan Anas (27) of Edarikode in Kottakkal, Rahim (35) of Karuvarakundu, Kuppanath Sajjad (23) of Kottakunnu in Wandoor, and Chettiyarmmal Kuruppath Rafiq (41). The bodies of two victims were recovered during Monday morning's search.

The person still missing has been identified as Sajitha, a resident of TK Colony. She was swept away while she had gone into the river to wash clothes near TK Nagar, a popular spot visited by tourists.

According to police, Fire and Rescue Services personnel, police and local residents are continuing the search at different stretches of the river.

The river separates Chokkad and Amarambalam panchayats. The water level rose sharply on Sunday evening despite there being no rain in the immediate area, apparently following heavy rainfall in the forested upstream areas.

The incident occurred when the river was crowded with visitors as it was a holiday. Several people were sitting on rocks in the middle of the river when the flash flood struck, sweeping some of them away within minutes.

The rapidly rising water level was noticed by Forest Department officials and local residents, who issued an immediate warning and joined the rescue efforts. Their intervention helped alert visitors and limit the extent of the tragedy.

The bodies have been shifted to Government Medical College Manjeri for the postmorten examination. Public Works Minister P K Basheer is scheduled to visit the hospital to meet the bereaved families. He is also expected to visit the accident site.