Man dies in Kerala as mock drill turns tragic

A mock drill organised at a river in this central Kerala district to assess the disaster management agencies’ preparedness to deal with floods turned tragic on Wednesday after a volunteer died in an accident while participating in it, police said.

The police said Binu Soman, 34, was seen drowning while participating in the mock drill at Manimala river near Keezhvaipur.

He was rescued and admitted to a private medical college hospital in Thiruvalla by the officials of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) but he died in the while undergoing treatment, they said.

Mock drills were held at various places in Pathanamthitta district on Thursday as part of assessing the disaster management team’s preparedness to deal with floods and landslides, officials said.