CHENNAI: A birthday celebration turned into a tragedy, as a BCom student drowned in the Palar river near Chengalpattu on Sunday. The victim along with his friends had gone to the river to take a bath. Chengalpattu Taluk police identified the deceased as T Mohanram (19) of Kancheepuram. He was pursuing his BCom degree at a private college in Potheri.
After the celebration at home got over, Mohanram and six of his friends went to the Palar river. While enjoying their bath, Mohanram allegedly went into the deep end of the river and began to struggle. Since he did not know how to swim, he went under the water, said the police.
Despite the best efforts of friends, he could not be found. On information, Chengalpattu Taluk police rushed to the spot and started rescue operations. After struggling for some time, the police personnel were able to find Mohanram. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. A case has been registered and a probe is on.
Boy rescued from well
In a separate incident, fire and rescue services personnel rescued a 14-year-old from a 30-foot well in Mogappair. According to the police, the boy identified as Abhishek got trapped inside the abandoned well when he went to retrieve a ball.
On Sunday, Abhishek was playing cricket with his friends near an abandoned well in Mogappair. As they were playing, the ball fell into the well. Abhishek got into the well and tried to retrieve the ball. In the process, he allegedly got stuck inside the 30-foot well. He got caught between the heaps of garbage dumped into the well.
His friends tried in vain to rescue him. Passersby who saw Abhishek struggling to make it out, alerted the JJ Nagar fire and rescue services personnel. They rushed to the spot and began the rescue operation. They managed to pull him out of the well in 30 minutes. Abhishek was given first aid and sent to a hospital for a check-up. He is out of danger, said the police.