CHENNAI: Three women, including two teenage girls, drowned at a defunct quarry near Tiruttani on Tuesday morning. The three women had gone to attend nature’s call and drowned when they went to freshen up, said the police.
On information, fire and rescue services personnel rushed to the spot ad fished out the bodies. Chief Minister MK Stalin condoled the deaths and announced a solatium of Rs 2 lakh each to the family members of the deceased.
Tiruttani police identified the deceased as Mallika (65), Hemalatha (16) and Gomathi (13). The police said Mallika, a widower, lives in Tiruvannamalai. She had come to Periyar Nagar in Tiruttani to take part in the 30th-day rituals of a relative, who had died. Hemalatha and Gomathi had also come with their family from Tiruvannamalai.
A senior police officer said, “At around 7 am, Mallika, accompanied, by Hemalatha and Gomathi, went to a field near Periyar Nagar to attend to nature’s call as the house did not have a toilet. After that, they went to a nearby stone quarry to freshen up.”
Quoting eyewitnesses, the police officer said initially one of the girls allegedly slipped and fell into the water. To rescue her, Mallika and the other girl jumped into the water. As the waterbody was more than 20 feet deep, they drowned. None of them knew swimming, added the police.
“On information, police and fire and rescue personnel from Tiruttani began rescue operations. The bodies were fished out and sent to Tiruttani Government Hospital for a postmortem,” the police said. Talking about the absence of a toilet in the house, the police said a toilet was being constructed, but it was not complete and hence the women were forced to go out to attend the nature’s call.
CM Stalin condoled the deaths and announced solatium for the family. The CM said, as the summer is peaking, people are attracted to waterbodies and there has been an increase in drowning deaths recently.
Stalin also advised the fire and rescue personnel, other department officials and volunteers to make the public aware of the safety measures when visiting such spots. He also advised the district collectors to concentrate on ensuring safety of the public.