PUDUKKOTTAI: Three students of a government elementary school died on Saturday while taking a bath when they slipped into an abandoned pit which was dug by the sand mafia.
Sources said, Dinesh (8), son of Natarajan, Mathiyalagan (7) son of Rathinam and Kumaraguru (5) son of Saravanan — all from Theethanipatti near Karamabakudi in the district — were studying in classes III, II and I respectively in the village.
On Saturday morning, the trio had gone to a tank near the Vinayagar temple to take bath. Accidently, they drifted towards the deep pit, which had been left abandoned after mining sand and all the three drowned. Since the tank was located at an isolated place, the children’s cries for help could have gone unheard.
Later, some of the herdsmen of the village located their dead bodies and informed it to their respective parents. Upon receiving information, the parents of the victims and the villagers rushed to the scene and retrieved their bodies.
On information, a team of police personnel attached to Malaiyur police station made investigations with villagers and further investigations are on to ascertain the reason behind the tragedy.