Thrissur: The bodies of two people who went missing after a boat capsized in the Karimpatta paddy fields at Nedupuzha in Thrissur have been recovered. Five people were on board the boat at the time of the accident, and three of them managed to swim to safety.

The accident occurred around 6 pm here the other day when a five-member group had gone to feed fish being reared in a leased fish farm when the boat capsized in the middle of the paddy field. The boat was carrying Sunil, a native of Chazhoor who had taken the field on lease, along with others.

Workers Nishad Araykkal Maliyekkal (42) and Girish Kizhakkoott (48) managed to swim ashore. Search teams later found Sunil in an exhausted condition inside the boat. The workers said they were not familiar with the two others who had accompanied Sunil.

The Fire and Rescue Services, assisted by a scuba diving team and police, searched for nearly 3 hours on the day of the accident but were unable to locate the missing men. The search resumed the following morning, when both bodies were recovered.

The search operation was carried out by the Nedupuzha Police and the Thrissur Fire and Rescue Services under the leadership of Nedupuzha Sub-Inspector P. Rajanarayanan, Station Officer B. Vaishakh, Senior Fire Officer P.S. Binu, and officers Sreehari, Dinesh, Gokul, Shajan, and others.