A college student drowned while swimming in the flooded wetlands of Manakody Vilakkumadam Kolpadavu, while 14 others were rescued by the fire force with help from local residents. The deceased is identified as Hashim (22), a native of Vadanamkurussi in Pattambi. 

The incident happened around 6.45 pm on Thursday. The group had reportedly come to swim in the waterlogged paddy fields of Manakody when the tragedy occurred.

Local residents said that the students were swimming through an unstable stretch of waterlogged land. Mistaking a patch of floating grass for solid ground, they moved toward it, unaware that there was no soil beneath. One student sank under the water, while the others clung to the grass to stay afloat.

Locals and the fire force rushed to the spot. The 14 stranded students were rescued using a small boat. After several hours of searching, the fire force scuba team recovered the body of the missing student. Hashim is an engineering student at a college in Pattambi.