3 more bodies recovered; search operation concludes

Rescue personnel today recovered the bodies of three remaining persons, including two Nepalese, who went missing after their vehicle plunged into a lake near here, following which the search operation was called off.
With the recovery of the bodies, a total of five persons -- four Nepalese citizens and a Malayali -- have drowned in the Wednesday accident in which their pick upjeep carrying nine people broke through a bridge railing and fell into the lake at Aroor along the border of Ernakulam and Alappuzha districts.
Four others, all migrant workers from Nepal, who were travelling in the vehicle, were rescued by fishermen soon after the incident and admitted to hospitals.

Bodies of two Nepalese, identified as Madhu Khatri and Himanlal Khatri, were recovered during yesterday's search operation conducted by Navy, Coast Guard police and fire department.
A government spokesman identified the bodies recovered today as that of Shyam Khatri, Jaman Bahadur Khatri and vehicle driver Nijas Ali - a Keralite.
The search operations concluded with the recovery of the three bodies, the spokesman added.

Ernakulam district authorities have contacted the Embassy of Nepal and informed them about the accident, officials said.
Ali's funeral was held today after post-mortem, they said.
The vehicle was traced and pulled out of the water late Wednesday night, police said.

Eyewitnesses had said the accident occurred as the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed it into the Aroor bridge's railing before crashing into the lake.