CHENNAI: A pall of gloom descended at the Chromepet GH on Wednesday after the bodies of boys from Nanganallur were brought there for autopsy procedures.

A huge crowd, particularly friends and relatives, had gathered on the premises sobbing and wailing. Their cries choked even the emotionally-charged onlookers and hospital workers.

“We’re left with no words to console my friends’ family,” said a tearful Suresh, who had come to collect his friend’s body. “The boys might have been nervous and afraid after going into the deep part. They might have not been able to swim out.”

Family members said that they had advised the boys to be careful while stepping into the pond as it was very deep. “As this was the first time the idol was being taken to the pond for performing Theerthavari, the youths were enthusiastic to be part of it,” said the friends who were present in the hospital.

Even the ambulance workers could not remain unaffected, as they carried the bodies of 5 boys into the hospital.

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