Wayanad: A 13-year-old boy drowned while bathing in a stream at Madoor in Meenangadi panchayat here on Thursday. The deceased is Vishnu, son of tribal couple Gopi and Mini, residents of Thekkukadu tribal settlement.

A Class 7 student of Government High School, Kolery, Vishnu, had gone fishing in Narasippuzha River near his house along with four friends.

According to Jishnu, ward member of Meenangadi panchayat, the children entered a deep section of the stream for a bath after fishing when the mishap occurred. “It is suspected that the boy’s legs got trapped in the slush. As the area received summer rain the previous day, deep spots in the stream may have accumulated slush,” he said.

When Vishnu failed to resurface, the other children rushed back to the settlement and alerted the elders. He was soon rescued and taken to a private hospital, but doctors declared him dead.

The body has been kept at the mortuary of the Taluk Hospital in Sulthan Bathery and will be handed over to relatives after the post-mortem examination on Friday for the last rites.