Two Yemeni nationals go missing in sea at Kochi's Valappu
KOCHI: Two Yemeni nationals went missing after being caught in strong currents at the Valappu beach in Vypeen on Monday. The missing have been identified as Abdul Salam, 21, and Jibral, 23, both students of Rathinam College of Arts and Science in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Njarakkal police said.
The incident occurred around 1pm when a group of nine young men — seven from Yemen and two from Sudan, all students of the Coimbatore college — were frolicking in the waves.
'The tragedy happened when the two moved farther into the sea during high tide and were swept away,' said Prejosh T P, a resident of Valappu.
Subsequently, the coastal police, Njarakkal police, and the fire and rescue services personnel from the Vypeen station launched an intensive search and rescue operation. A fisheries department boat and a Navy helicopter too were actively involved in the search, but to no avail.
The students, pursuing bachelor's courses in information technology and artificial intelligence, were on vacation and scheduled to return to their home countries the following day. Kochi was their final stop, the police said.
Another local resident, who chose to remain anonymous, said the group arrived at the beach around 10.30am.
'Eager for a bit of adventure, some of them entered the sea and began enjoying the waves. As two of them were swept away, the other youths cried out for help. Local people rushed to the scene and initiated rescue efforts, but the situation quickly went beyond our control,' he said.
A fire and rescue services officer said they received an alert from the local police station around 1pm and promptly arrived at the site.
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