Locals’ rescue bid in vain as siblings drown in temple pond

Sources said N Vasantha Kumar (11) and N Abhimanyan (9), children of Narayanan, a farmer residing in R Suthipattu, were studying in Class 6 and 4 respectively. 

On Monday, the brothers decided to take bath in the pond at Narasimhar temple before going to school. The duo, who were not aware of the waterbody’s depth, went to the deeper area and drowned. Since both of them did not know swimming, they screamed for help.

Upon hearing the screams, a few bystanders jumped in the pond and tried to rescue the children. However, they were not able to find the brothers. 

Subsequently, they passed on the information to the Thanjavur taluk police who along with the fire and rescue service personnel rushed to the spot and conducted a search operation. The fire service personnel recovered the bodies of Vasantha Kumar and Abhimanyan. The bodies were taken to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital. Later, the bodies were handed over to the parents of the deceased. The police have warned people not to take bath in the pond.