2 girl trainee athletes found hanging at Sports Authority of India hostel in Kerala

KOCHI: Two girls who were sports trainees staying at a Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel in Kerala were found hanging in a room on Thursday, police said. According to news agency PTI, the deceased have been identified as Sandra (17) from Kozhikode district and Vyshnavi (15) from Thiruvananthapuram district. According to police, Sandra was an athletics trainee studying in Plus Two, while Vyshnavi was a kabaddi player and a Class 10 student. The incident came to light around 5am when fellow hostel inmates noticed that the duo had not reported for the morning training session. "When repeated knocks on the door went unanswered, hostel authorities broke open the door and found both girls hanging from ceiling fans in the room," police said. Police said Vyshnavi was staying in a different room but had spent Wednesday night in Sandra’s room. Both were seen by other hostel inmates early in the morning, police added. Kollam East police have launched a probe into the incident. "The reason for the deaths is yet to be ascertained and no suicide note has been recovered from the room," police officials said. Police will record statements from other sportspersons in the hostel, their trainers and relatives, an official said. The bodies will be handed over to relatives after post-mortem examinations, police added.