Kochi | Three students of a private dental college drowned in a river at Vadattupara near Kothamangalam on Sunday, police said.

The deceased were identified as Biyon from Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district, Athul from Kottayam, and Hareesh from Thiruvananthapuram.

According to police, a nine-member group reached Palavanpady in Vadattupara at around noon.

The group later entered the river for bathing.

However, Biyon, Athul, and Hareesh were caught in a strong current and drowned, police said.

The remaining members of the group alerted residents, who launched a search operation.

Police and personnel from the Fire and Rescue Services department soon joined the search and recovered the trio at around 2.15 pm, officials said.

Though the students were rushed to a hospital in Kothamangalam, doctors declared them dead.

Kuttampuzha police have registered a case of unnatural death and initiated an investigation.

Police said the deceased were students of Mar Baselios Dental College, Kothamangalam.

The bodies will be handed over to their relatives after the postmortem examination on Monday.