COIMBATORE: Four persons, including an elderly couple and a six-year-old boy, lost their lives in separate rain-related incidents across Western districts following heavy overnight showers.
In Salem, Venkatachalam (75), a retired transport corporation official and his wife Radha (70) died after their car submerged in a rainwater-filled railway underpass near Omalur on Monday morning.
Police said the couple had left their residence at Rani Anna Nagar in Chinna Thirupathi, Salem, to attend a relative’s engagement ceremony at Semmandapatti near Kadayampatti. Venkatachalam was driving the vehicle.
Police said Venkatachalam attempted to drive through the flooded railway underpass along the Salem–Bengaluru railway route. The vehicle suddenly sank into the deep water. The couple tried to escape but were unable to open the car doors and became trapped inside the submerged vehicle.
Passersby who noticed the partially submerged car alerted authorities after spotting the unconscious couple inside. Personnel from the fire and rescue services and the Omalur police rushed to the scene and retrieved the vehicle using ropes. The bodies were later sent to Salem Government Hospital for post-mortem examination. Police have registered a case and launched further investigations.
In another tragic incident, the body of a six-year-old boy who was swept away in a flash flood on Sunday near Thalavadi in Erode was recovered on Monday morning after an overnight search operation.
The child, identified as R. Madan Karthik, was the son of Rangaraj, a daily wage labourer from Thiganarai village near Thalavadi. He was a class 2 student at a government-aided school.
Police said the boy had entered a nearby stream when the water flow was relatively low following rains on Sunday evening. However, a sudden surge of floodwater swept him away before he could escape.
Villagers, along with personnel from the fire and rescue department, immediately launched a search operation. The child’s body was recovered nearly 200 metres away from the spot where he had gone missing. The body was later sent to Thalavadi Government Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Meanwhile, in Rasipuram, a 49-year-old woman died, and three others were injured after a weakened compound wall collapsed on them during the rains.
The deceased was identified as Chitradevi, the wife of Nattudurai, a resident of Vallalar Street. Her daughter, Darshini (22), along with two others — S Dayalpraveen (18), and S Parvesh (15) — sustained injuries in the incident.
Police said the victims were travelling on two-wheelers through a narrow lane when the rain-soaked compound wall of a house suddenly gave way and collapsed on them. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.