COIMBATORE: Three college students from Chennai, on Friday, met their watery grave while bathing in a check dam in Pollachi near Coimbatore.

Police identified the deceased as Joseph Anton Jeniff (21), of Chennai, Revanth (21), of Tirunelveli, and Dharun Viswarangan (19), of Chennai. They were studying at a physiotherapy college in Poonamallee.

Police said 30 students who had come to Coimbatore to participate in a cultural programme in a private college on Thursday, embarked on a fun trip to Aliyar Dam on Friday morning and took a bath in the check dam.

Joseph, who had gone into deep waters, began to drown. Revanth and Dharun who rushed to his rescue also drowned with him. As other shocked students shouted for help, the villagers arrived and informed Anaimalai police who then retrieved their bodies after a search for three hours.

The bodies of the deceased were sent for a post-mortem examination at the Pollachi Government Hospital. The Aliyar police have registered a case, and further inquiries are on. Meanwhile, the villagers blamed the authorities for not restricting tourists from bathing in the check dam.

“Many lives are lost as the check dam is unpredictable with its loose soil and dangerously deep spots where tourists get drowned,” they claimed.