Pathanamthitta tragedy: Missing child found dead after school auto plunges into canal

Pathanamthitta: Two young children lost their lives on Wednesday after an auto-rickshaw carrying school students toppled into a canal at Thoompakulam in Konni. The victims have been identified as Adhilakshmi (7), a Class 3 student of Karumanthodu Sree Narayana School and a resident of Thoompakulam, and Yadukrishnan (4).

The accident took place in the evening when the vehicle veered off the road and fell into the canal. Adhilakshmi’s death was confirmed shortly after the incident. Initial reports suggested that five children were travelling in the auto-rickshaw, and the injured students along with the driver were taken to hospital.

Later, doubts emerged that another child was missing, and it was then stated that a total of six children had been in the vehicle. A search operation continued into the night to locate four-year-old Yadukrishnan. His body was recovered from the canal at around 8:15 pm.

The mishap occurred at about 4 pm while the auto-rickshaw was taking the children home from school. According to reports, the driver swerved suddenly to avoid a snake that had appeared on the road, which caused the vehicle to go out of control and overturn into the canal.