TIRUCHY: Five students of a gurukulam here who as part of their routine stepped into river Kollidam on Sunday morning to perform rituals were swept away by the strong currents. While one of them escaped, the body of another was recovered a few metres away from the spot where they performed ablutions. The other two are feared to have drowned, the police said.
A Gopalakrishnan (17) of Erode, S Abiram (15) of Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, S Hari Prasath (15) and Vishnu Prasath (14) – both from Mannargudi in Tiruvarur -- were students at Acharyah Srimaan Bhattar Gurukulam Veda Padasalai in Srirangam. As was their routine, the four boys early on Sunday entered the Kollidam near Yatri Nivas without adult supervision to perform rituals. While in the act, the stronger-than-usual water currents swept them away, the police said. Gopalakrishnan, however, managed to cling to the rocks on the river bed and land ashore to safety. Locals who spotted him informed the police.
A search operation by fire and rescue services personnel subsequently discovered Vishnu Prasath’s body near a rock in the waters a few metres away from the spot where the four were washed away. While the police suspect the other two boys to have got trapped in a 60-m deep trench, below the Kollidam bridge, search operations by deep-waterbody divers and local fishermen returned futile. Other methods to trace the bodies in the trench also yielded no results. Finding it difficult to carry, the search operation was called off for the day. It would resume early morning the following day, sources said.
Meanwhile, to facilitate the rescue operation, the district administration kept the sluices of the Mukkombu regulator closed since 11.30 am, preventing the release of 1,900 cubic feet of water into the Kollidam. It would be diverted into river Cauvery instead, sources said, adding that the sluices would be opened again once the search operation is over.
In a separate incident, the body of a 55-year-old farmer who was washed away in the Kollidam near Thirumanur in Ariyalur district on Saturday night was recovered on Sunday. A search is on for his relative who separately entered the river the next day.
According to sources, farmer G Muruganandham of Periyamarai on Saturday evening was grazing cattle near the Kollidam in Thirumanur. He entered the river but got swept away. Muruganandam’s relative P Arumugam (50) of Thanjavur district, who had come visiting the former, too, got washed away when he stepped into the river on Sunday morning.
Firefighters from Ariyalur and Thiruvaiyur stations along with the Thoothur police were on a search operation for the duo when they spotted Muruganandham’s body near Ramanallur on Sunday. It was sent to Ariyalur Medical College Hospital. The search operation which continued late into the evening was called off. It would resume the following day.
(With inputs from Thiruselvam P @ Ariyalur)