Tragedy strikes western Tamil Nadu as five school students drown in separate incidents

Five boys, including three who were just nine years old, drowned in separate accidents in Tirupur and Erode districts on Monday. While the boys in Tirupur drowned in a well, the teenagers in Erode died while taking bath in a stone quarry.

In the Tirupur case, police identified the deceased boys as Ajay, Santhosh and Jeevanandam, all relatives and studying Class 5 in different areas.

“The three boys along with A Karikalan (9) had gone for defecation in an open area near an abandoned well located far away from their village at Kaniyur in Madathukulam area. The 30-foot deep well that was brimming with water did not have a protection wall,” police said.

After defecation, the three boys got into the well to wash. But they slipped and fell into the deep waters and drowned, police said. Karikalan, who was shocked to see them drown, rushed home to alert the family.

The panicked family members accompanied by local villagers rushed to the spot. On receiving information, a team of Fire and Rescue Services personnel and police arrived around 5.30 pm. Despite a search, the boys could not be found in the waters.

The delay in tracing the children irked the villagers, who resorted to a roadblock on the Madathukulam-Kaniyur Road. The villagers, however, withdrew their agitation after police held talks with them.

Around 7.30 pm, the bodies of two boys were taken out and sent for a post-mortem examination at Udumalpet Government Hospital, while a search is on to trace the other boy.

Efforts are on to pump out the water in the well in search of the boy. Police said Santhosh and Jeevanandam had visited Ajay’s house with their parents to attend a relative’s marriage.

Two boys drown in stone quarry

In the second incident, two boys aged 16 and 14 drowned while bathing in stagnant waters in a stone quarry in Erode district on Monday.

According to police, V Nandakumar (16), studying Class 10, and K Kathiresan (14), studying Class 9, were related and hailed from Pungampalli village near Sathyamangalam. They were visiting a relative’s house near Karuthampattipudur near Gobi on Sunday.

Around noon on Monday, the duo had gone to a stone quarry to take bath in stagnant waters. “Nandakumar and Kathiresan, who did not know swimming, had ventured into the deep waters and drowned. As both the boys failed to return home even after a long time, the family members went in search and found their bodies floating,” police said.

On receiving information, the police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies of the deceased for post-mortem examination at Gobi Government Hospital. The policehave registered a case and further inquiries are on.