Two children, Aromal (13) and Shinil (14), reportedly died while practising swimming in Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram, on Saturday.

The incident occurred in Venkavila in Anadu panchayat, at a local pond where swimming classes are conducted in the morning and evenings. 

Seven students allegedly entered the locked compound by jumping the wall, on Saturday, which was a holiday. 

Locals broke the lock and rushed to save the drowning boys, both class 8 students, but they were brought dead to the nearby Taluk hospital. 

Their bodies have been taken to the medical college, as per reports.

State govt implemented ‘SwimSafe’ in February

According to media reports, a significant number of children and adolescents die every year in the state by drowning.

The Kerala government had gained cognisance of this fact and introduced survival swimming classes in two schools in Thiruvananthapuram, in February.

The move was in accordance with a World Heath Organisation (WHO) initiative named SwimSwafe, intended to reduce incidences of death by drowning.

SwimSafe aims to teach children the precautions they should follow when entering water and the awareness they should have about the environment when dealing with unfamiliar water bodies.

The program was introduced by the George Institute for Global Health in collaboration with the State General Education department.