PUDUCHERRY/VILLUPURAM/CUDDALORE: Five people, including a German citizen and a minor, died in a series of drowning incidents that happened in the Puducherry, Villupuram, and Kallakurichi districts on the week-end.
In the first incident, M Jagadeesh (16), a class 11 boy from Murungapakam, was dragged into the sea, while he was playing with his friends at Marina Beach in Puducherry on Sunday.
Despite efforts by workers involved in dredging work at the estuary, Jagadeesh succumbed to the incident. Authorities conducted an autopsy at IGMCHRI and an investigation is underway. The police had already implemented strict measures to curb sea activities at Rock Beach following six recent drowning deaths.
The second incident occurred at Thandirayankuppam Beach, where D Diwan (35), a software engineer from Tirupati, drowned. He came to Puducherry on a family trip on Sunday. His body was recovered by local fishermen and authorities from Kottakuppam sent it for autopsy at JIPMER.
In a similar tragedy, E Volker Class Guenther (77) from East Germany, visiting his relatives in Thandirayankuppam fishing hamlet, drowned during his daily swim in the sea on Saturday. Locals rescued him and rushed him to a nearby Primary Health Centre, from where he was referred to Government Hospital in Puducherry. However, he died en route to the hospital. Kottakuppam police are investigating both the drowning incidents.
The fishers, Meenavaselvan (51) of Chinnavaaikal and Dhayalamorthy (55) of Killai village lost their lives after their fishing boat capsized near Muzhuguthurai on Saturday. While Meenavaselvan’s body washed ashore on the same day, Dhayalamorthy’s body was found on Sunday. Their postmortem was conducted in Chidambaram Government Hospital and Killai police are probing the accident.