Honeymoon couple drown as boat capsizes

A newly wedded couple from Andhra Pradesh drowned when the 'shikara' boat capsized in the backwaters here.

Body of the woman, Haimavathy (26), was fished out last evening and searchers came across the body of her husband, Venkitesh Sagar (30) this morning, police said.
The couple, who hailed from Visakhapatnam, had got married only about a month back and arrived here on Monday for their honeymoon after visiting places like Munnar in Kerala, they said.

Local fishermen said they saw the boat getting caught by strong winds and sinking in the middle of Punnamada lake, the hub of water tourism in Kerala.

Though local rescuers plunged into the water they could not save the victims as the current was strong on account of heavy rains and squally winds.

Later, the search was stepped up with arrival of rescue personnel and police. By late evening they found the body of the woman but had to abandon the search due to darkness and heavy rains.

The man's body was spotted and taken out as the search resumed this morning.