CUDDALORE: Four women and three girls who had gone to bathe in a river near Nellikuppam in Cuddalore district on Sunday afternoon drowned. None of them knew swimming, said A Sabibullah, DSP, Panruti.
Inquiries showed the recent spells of rain had filled deep pits in the dried portions of the river, and the group, belonging to two villages, was not aware of this.
“One of the group members strayed into a deep portion of the river and suddenly became aware of the danger. She cried out for help and the others attempted to save her. All of them drowned. A boy who had accompanied them rushed to one of the villages and informed people there. A lorry driver reached the spot and the seven people were pulled out one by one,” said the DSP.
They were rushed to the Cuddalore government general hospital where they were declared ‘brought dead’. The bodies were handed over to their families after postmortem.
The deceased were identified as S Sangavi, 18, K Priya, 19, A Monisha, 16, M Navaneedam, 20, and M Sumitha, 18, from A Kuchipalayam and R Kavya alias Divyadarshini, 10, and her sister R Priyadarshini, 15, from Ayankurinjipadi.
The part of the river where the incident occurred is secluded.
Chief minister M K Stalin, condoling the deaths, announced ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
