A 23-year-old man from Kerala drowned after he was swept away while crossing a swollen culvert on a motorcycle in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, police said on Sunday. The deceased is identified as Yedu Krishnan.

His 22-year-old female friend, who was riding pillion, also fell into the river but was rescued by local residents.

The duo, who are from Kerala, had arrived in Ambikapur, the headquarters of Surguja district, on Friday. They travelled to Mainpat on a motorcycle on Saturday, Kamleshwarpur police said.

While crossing the Ghunghanta culvert, the motorcycle's wheel suddenly slipped, causing both of them to fall into the river amid a strong current. Local residents managed to rescue the woman, while Yedu was swept away by the current.

Police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams subsequently launched a search operation. The SDRF recovered Krishnan's body around 10.30 am on Sunday, about one kilometre downstream from the spot where he was swept away, the officer said.

The woman was taken to a hospital and her condition was stated to be normal, officials said.

According to preliminary information, Krishnan was a nursing student in Bengaluru and had travelled to meet his friend, who studies at an institute in Raipur, Prajapati said.

Krishnan's family members in Kerala have been informed and are expected to reach Surguja by Sunday evening, police said.
(With PTI inputs)