Kottayam: A young Malayali couple died after they slipped off a cliff's edge as they attempted to take a selfie during trekking at the Yosemite National Park in California.

Vishnu and wife Meenakshi, both 29, fell into a deep ravine from a popular overlook at the edge of a cliff where there were no railings.

The tragedy occurred last Tuesday, but the families in Kerala got the information from the Indian Consulate only on Saturday.

The bodies were mangled beyond recognition. The couple were identified from driving licences which were found in their pockets.

A software engineer, Vishnu is the son of Dr M V Viswanath and Dr C Suhasini of Kathiroor in Thalassery.

Meenakshi, an IT professional, is the daughter of S R Moorthy and Chitra of Thirunakkara, Kottayam.

Vishnu was working with the Sidco Software company in California and had come home to Kathiroor along with Meenakshi a year ago.

Vishnu has a brother, Jishnu, who is in Melbourne. Meenakshi's lone sister is Manju.