3 school students, teen drown in pond near Mettur dam

Police said B Manikandan, 17, a construction worker took three students M Mohanraj, 7, studying in Class 2 and brothers D Raja, 12, studying in Class 6 and D Tamilalagan, 9, studying in Class 4, all hailing from Mettur camp area to bathe in the pond.

According to police, they had gone without informing their parents on Sunday morning and did not return for a long time.

Family members and local villagers searched the neighbourhood but could not find them anywhere.

Meanwhile, some villagers, who were grazing goats, noticed the body of Manikandan floating on Monday morning and informed the family. Karumalaikoodal police along with Fire and Rescue personnel rushed to the spot and retrieved his body.

On suspicion that other boys too could have drowned, a search was organised and their bodies were fished out after an hour. Police suspect one of the boys should have got trapped in the slush and others could have gone to his rescue, but ended up drowning one by one. It is said that all the four did not know to swim.

But, villagers alleged that the boys could have died due to suffocation as a chemical factory nearby was letting out its harmful effluents into the pond.

The public sought the help of the cops to prevent discharge of chemical waste into the water body. Mettur police have registered a case and further investigation is on.