CHENNAI: A 48-year-old man died near Ponneri after he allegedly fell into an open stormwater drain early Thursday morning. The Ponneri police identified the man as K Babu Krishnan of Ponneri. He was a mason.

Passersby found his body and informed the police and the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Service (TNFRS). His body was recovered and sent to a government hospital for postmortem.

Around 7 am on Thursday, passersby at Thada Perumbakkam found a man's body lying face down in an open stormwater drain.

They immediately alerted the police and the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Service (TNFRS) who rushed to the spot. The fire personnel recovered the body and sent it to Ponneri Government Hospital for a postmortem.

Because of the recent rains, the stormwater drain was opened as it was being desilted.

There were no barricades to keep away the public. Babu's family said that he was home till 6 am and must have gone to a tea shop, police said.

Police noted that there are tea shops and other shops near the drain, so he must have come to one of the shops and accidentally fell inside.