Kottayam |Three members of a family drowned while bathing in a river here on Sunday.

Arayankavu resident Johnson (59), his nephew Aloshi (17) and niece Jismol (15) got caught in the undercurrents in the Muvattupuzha river and drowned, police said.

The tragedy struck the family a day before Jismol and her family were set to return to the United Kingdom.

The other family members who had accompanied them to bathe in the river are safe, they said.

The accident happened when Aloshi and Johnson attempted to rescue Jismol from drowning. The incident took place around 11.30 AM.

Three Fire Force units with the help of a scuba diving team recovered the bodies after a two-hour long search, police said.

Jismol and her family were set to leave for the UK, after their vacation in Kerala, on Monday. She is a school student there and has two siblings.