Thiruvananthapuram,   A Kerala man on Friday severed the hand of his wife and slashed the fingers of the other hand using a knife in a fit of rage over a domestic quarrel.

The incident occurred at Kanakary near Kottayam around 0930 a.m., said local village councillor.

For the past few days there has been a tiff between Pradeep and his wife Manju, locals said.

Pradeep is known for his alcoholic tendencies and there have been skirmishes between the couple in the past. After every fight, he used to apologise and promise to behave, but soon returned to his quarrelsome nature.

"As soon as I heard of the incident, I reached their home and saw Manju lying in a pool of blood. Manju was immediately rushed to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital. We are told that the surgery is going on with the doctors trying to attach the severed hand," said the councillor.

The couple has a 13-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl.

When Pradeep was attacking his wife, their daughter tried to intervene and suffered minor injuries.

Pradeep fled the scene on a two-wheeler and the police have launched a manhunt to nab him.