Teenage girls drown after falling into pit filled with rainwater in Avadi

Chennai

The deceased Gayathri (15) and Rathimeena (13) of Pothur near Avadi were cousins and their fathers, who are siblings, were sharing the same house with their families. On Tuesday evening, the two girls stepped out to play in their farmland and did not return even after hours. Gayathri’s father Chinnadurai, a construction labourer, and Rathimeena’s father Dakshinamoorthy, a truck driver, went in search of them and found them inside a 10-ft deep pit brimming with rainwater.

They were rescued and rushed to Avadi Government Hospital but were declared brought dead. On information, Avadi Tank Factory police sent their bodies to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for post-mortem. A case has been registered and further investigation is on.

When contacted, police said the pit was dug by licenced sand miners and suspect the girls might have stepped on the water without realising the depth of the pit.

In another incident, a three-year-old girl slipped and fell into a three-foot deep concrete tank at a construction site and drowned. The deceased Sunali Pal is the daughter of Viboothi Pal and Lakmi Pal couple from Assam, who was working at a construction site at Rajankuppam as labourers for the last four months.

Sunali Pal, who was playing beside a tank at the site slipped and fell into it. Other workers noticed her a few minutes later and rushed her to a nearby hospital but was declared brought dead. Tiruverkadu police rushed to the spot and sent the girl’s body for post-mortem. A case has been registered and further investigation is on.