TIRUVANNAMALAI: What was meant to be a refreshing end to a festive holiday turned into a tragedy on Monday afternoon as five people, including three young sisters, drowned in Samuthiram lake in Tiruvannamalai.
The three sisters had only just returned to their government-aided girls’ hostel after celebrating Deepavali with their family. Looking to wash away the travel exhaustion, the siblings, accompanied by a few friends, went to the lake for a bath. The sisters and their friend got trapped in a deep pit while bathing. Their hostel nurse also drowned when she attempted to rescue them.
The victims were identified as sisters Vijayalakshmi (15), Alli (14) and Bhoomika (13), their friend Valliammal (16), and hostel nurse Thenmozhi (23). The sisters had gone to their home at Karapattu village in Chengam, Tiruvannamalai, for the Deepavali holidays on November 6. They returned to the Children Home for Girls, run by TDH Core Trust at Anaipiranthan village, around noon on Monday.
According to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) officials in Tiruvannamalai, the incident occurred around 1.30 pm when the four girls, along with 10 other students and Thenmozhi, went to spend time near the lake.
The four girls entered the lake to bathe but got trapped in a deep pit and could not make their way out. Thenmozhi, who entered the water to rescue them, also got trapped and drowned.
Dad dropped girls at hostel just hrs earlier
The other girls, who remained on the shore, raised an alarm, following which residents rushed to the spot and pulled the victims out. They were taken to the Tiruvannamalai Government MCH, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.
Collector Vandana Garg inspected the lake and hostel premises, while SP R Udhayakumar and Revenue Divisional Officer TD Selvam conducted an inspection at the incident site.
Speaking to TNIE, Kumar, uncle of the three sisters, said their father, Venkatesan, had dropped them at the hostel on Monday morning as schools were scheduled to reopen on November 10.
His voice broke as he waited with other family members for the bodies at the hospital. Police questioned several people, including residents who took part in the rescue efforts, hostel staff and the other girls who had accompanied the victims.