TIRUCHY: Three members of a family from Tiruchy and two of their relatives from Tiruppur were among the nine victims, who drowned after a cruise boat capsized in Bargi dam near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. The boat, operated by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department, was carrying around 40 passengers when it reportedly lost balance in a sudden storm and sunk.
The deceased have been identified as R Kamaraj (38), his wife Karkuzhali (38) and their younger son Tamilventhan (4), all natives of Tiruchy, and Karkuzhali’s sister-in-law P Soubhagya (42) and her son P Mayuran (8) from Dharapuram in Tiruppur.
According to police, Kamaraj, a native of Anna Nagar near Thiruverumbur, completed apprentice training in the Tiruchy Ordnance Factory and moved to Jabalpur Ordnance Factory a year ago. His elder son Puvitharan (10) was studying in Class 6 at a school in Jabalpur. Since summer vacation had started, Karkuzhali invited her parents Vadivel and Mariammal, sister-in-law Soubhagya, and her children Iniya and Mayuran to Jabalpur.
On Thursday evening, Kamaraj and the others visited Bargi Dam and took a boat ride. Unexpectedly, the boat capsized, and Kamaraj, Karkuzhali, Tamilventhan, Soubhagya, and Mayuran drowned. Puvitharan and Iniya, who were wearing life jackets, were rescued.
Sources in Tiruchy police said the bodies would be brought to Tiruchy after the post-mortem. The TN government is coordinating with authorities in Madhya Pradesh to facilitate the process, they added. Kamaraj’s friend Sujith said that the bodies were expected to be brought back on Saturday by air ambulance.