CHENNAI: A fun trip to the sea ended in tragedy for a group of five friends, after two of them drowned while swimming, near Ennore on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Keerthika (19) and Akash (20). Keerthika is a third-year student while Akash is a second-year student of a private engineering college.
According to the police, the two were among five friends from an engineering college in Soorapattu, Tiruvallur, who had visited the beach to swim. The group also included Pavithra (18), a second-year B Tech IT student; Shivani (19), a third-year B Tech IT student; and their friend Tharun (21), a BSc graduate.
While they were swimming, Akash and Keerthika were caught in strong waves and swept away. The fishermen who saw the incident rushed to their rescue and managed to rescue Keerthika and rushed her to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Soon, Fire and Rescue Services personnel, assisted by local fishermen, launched a search operation for Akash. His body was recovered nearly three hours later and handed over to the police.
The bodies of the youth were then sent to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination. The police have registered a case and are investigating the incident.