Remembering Saji and Bibin, Mathrubhumi staff members lost during 2018 flood

Kaduthuruthy (Kottayam): Six long years have passed since the death of Saji and Bibin, who passed away after their boat capsized in Mundar’s Ezhumam lake while reporting the 2018 Kerala floods. They had braved into the waters to convey the sorrows and views of the flood-ravaged land to the outside world but sadly lost their lives in the process.

The boat was carrying a team from the Mathrubhumi News Channel who were covering the 2018 flood’s effects in the Kottayam region. Saji (46), a local correspondent of the channel from Kaduthuruthy and Bibin (27), a Thiruvalla native and the driver of the car who was helping carry equipment drowned when the boat capsized on July 23, 2018. The accident happened at around 1 PM when the team was returning after covering the flood damages in Mundar. 

There were five people on the boat including the oarsman, Thrissur native and Mathrubhumi News Reporter K.B Sreedharan (29) and cameraman Abhilash Chirakkadavu (29). The oarsman, Sreedharan and Abhilash were miraculously rescued by the locals.

Incidentally, the only change that has occurred in this region since 2018 is the completion of the first phase of the bridge to be built across the lake and the construction of a temporary footbridge.