Kozhikode: The body of a 51-year-old man, who went missing after being swept away by strong currents in the Poonoor River near Ekarool in Balussery, was recovered on Tuesday morning.

P.S. Shiju (51), a resident of Amincherithazham in Unnikulam near Balussery, had gone to the Kavullaparamba bathing ghat on the Poonoor River with two friends on Sunday evening. While stepping into the river for a bath, he lost his footing and was caught in the strong current.

On hearing cries for help from his friends, local residents who were at the river rushed to the spot and tried to rescue him, but he was already swept away and they were unable to locate him.

The Fire and Rescue Services were alerted, and a team led by Station Officer K. Pradeep from the Narikkuni Fire Station, along with a scuba diving team from Kozhikode, carried out extensive search operations through Sunday night and continued the effort on Monday with the support of local volunteers.

The search came to an end on Tuesday morning when a team of local volunteers recovered Shiju's body around 7 a.m. from the river at Avelam, nearly 2 kilometres downstream from where he had gone missing.

The body was later shifted to Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, where an autopsy will be conducted before it is handed over to the family.