Ernakulam: A young model from Delhi, identified as Divyanshu Joshi, drowned in an abandoned stone quarry-turned-lake at Mudakuzha in Kerala’s Ernakulam district on Thursday, police said.
Officers recovered the body on Thursday. After a post mortem examination, it was flown to Delhi on Friday evening. Police have registered a case of unnatural death.
Kodanad police Station House Officer Sarin A S said Joshi and two companions from Delhi were in Kerala to shoot an advertisement for a Delhi textile firm. The shoot had been scheduled for Friday, but the three reached Mudakuzha on Thursday after locating the site online.
“Joshi stepped into the water but soon slipped into a deep section while his two friends filmed him swimming,” the officer said. He explained the quarry had been excavated in an inverted spiral pyramid shape to allow vehicle movement when operational, and Joshi may have slipped from one level into much deeper water.
Mudakuzha panchayat president Shimy Varghese described the abandoned quarry as a “death trap” and said residents had been warned to stay away. “A few people have drowned there in the past and we had put up warning boards,” she said. The panchayat said it had not granted permission for the advertisement shoot and that the crew had planned to approach officials the following day.