Three minors drown in separate incidents

A Class 10 boy, who went swimming in a well with friends, drowned near Pattabiram on Saturday. The deceased, C Gopi (15), was the son of Chandrasekar of Kakkanji Nagar. On Saturday afternoon, he along with friends, went to Palavedu to swim in a well. Gopi, who jumped into the well first, did not come out.

After noticing that he was missing, his friends searched for him but in vain. On information, Gopi’s parents alerted the Avadi fire station. TNFRS personnel rushed to the spot and searched for the boy. As they could not trace him, the water in the well was pumped out using a motor. They found Gopi’s body around midnight and sent it for autopsy. The Muthapudupet police are investigating the incident.

In another incident, two days after a 14-year-old girl drowned in a quarry pond near Semmanchery, her body surfaced on Sunday. The deceased, S Anandhi, was the daughter of Siva, an autorickshaw driver and resident of slum clearance board quarters in Semmanchery. Anandhi, who has been promoted to Class 9, went to a pond in Ottiyambakkam to swim with friends on Friday.

To their shock, Anandhi drowned in the pond and they immediately alerted her parents. They searched for Anandhi with the help of neighbours, but in vain. However, her bloated body surfaced in the pond on Sunday. On information, the Pallikaranai police retrieved it and sent it to the Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy. A case has been registered and further investigation is on. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old boy from Uthiramerur, who came to the Marina beach on Saturday with friends, was feared drowned in the sea as after he was sucked in by a giant wave. He has been identified as S Maya belonging to the gypsy community, the police said.

While he was playing in the sea behind the MGR-Jayalalithaa memorial along with friends around 4 pm, he suddenly went missing. After his friends informed his mother Jerina, she reached Chennai on Sunday and lodged a complaint at the Anna Square police station.

A case has been registered and the police were searching for him. The police suspect that Maya could have drowned and they are checking if his body washed ashore elsewhere.