Four people drowned in sea during the New Year celebrations

CHENNAI: Four people drowned in the sea during the New Year celebrations in ECR and Mahabalipuram.

In the first incident, Raja (25) of Old Washermenpet was an engineer and his friend Damodaran (26) went to ECR Beach to celebrate the New Year at midnight.

After the celebration at around 5 am, they went to the Uthandi sea shore and went swimming. The area was already restricted from swimming by the Chengalpattu police but the duo managed to cross the barricades and went to the sea. When they were in the sea, both were pulled inside by a giant wave. 

The local fishermen who noticed the incident tried to rescue them but all their efforts went in vain. The Kanathur police who visited the spot retrieved the bodies and sent them for post-mortem to the Royapettah GH. Police said that both of them had consumed liquor and went into the sea for swimming.

In another incident, two college students drowned in the sea in Mahabalipuram on Saturday. The villagers of Sulerikadu noticed the dead body of a young woman who was washed ashore on the beach and informed the police.

The Mahabalipuram police who retrieved the body sent it to the Chengalpattu GH. Later on Sunday another body of a youngster was found on the shore in Nemili Kuppam.

Later the police during the investigation found that the deceased was Rithick (18) of Erode and Suvesha (19) of Madipakkam both of them were friends and were studying in a private engineering college in Thiruporur.

On Saturday both of them had visited the Mahabalipuram beach ahead of New Year and at that time they were drowned in the sea. The Mahabalipuram police have registered a case and further inquiry is on.