Six children, most of them members of one family, died after a country boat they were on capsized in Narani river in Malappuram district on Tuesday, DHNS reports from Thiruvananthapuram.
The incident happened at about 5 pm near Changarankulam.
The deceased, four of them girls, were identified as Praseena, Vaishna, Jenisha, Pooja, Adidev and Adinath.
Three others - two children and an oarsman identified as Velayudhan - were rescued by residents of the area.
Preliminary reports said the children, aged between eight and 15 years, included Velayudhan's relatives and neighbours.
The group was heading for a nearby stretch of the river where a bund had recently breached.
Velayudhan is admitted in a hospital in Thrissur. The condition of the rescued children was reported as stable.