Rescue attempt goes awry, five drown in Gummidipoondi pond

The incident happened around 10 am at Karumpu Kuppam at New Gummidipoondi and the deceased were identified as R Sumathi (35), her daughter Aswitha (14), their neighbour M Jothilakshmi (32) and Aswitha’s friends - D Jeevitha (13) and G Narmatha (12). Jeevitha and Narmatha were Class 8 students, while Aswitha was studying in Class 9.

Police said that while Sumathi and Jothilakshmi were washing clothes at the lotus pond adjacent to the Angala Parameshwari temple, the three girls were swimming in the water body a few metres away. “Narmatha first went to the deeper side of the pond and got stuck in the sludge and the other two girls who went to rescue her drowned as well.

Sumathi and Jothilakshmi who saw the children drowning ran into the pond, but they too were killed,” a police officer said. Children playing near the pond alerted the villagers and a 108 ambulance rushed to the spot but they could only retrieve the bodies which were sent to Ponneri Government Hospital for post-mortem. The Sipcot police have registered a case. Meanwhile, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh each to families of the deceased. The fund will be given from the CM’s Public Relief Fund.