A fun outing to the beach with friends turned fatal for a 13-year-old schoolboy who drowned in the sea on Thursday. His body washed ashore at Kasimedu harbour on Saturday.
R. Santhosh, a class VI student of a private school in Villivakkam, and four of his friends went to the Marina without informing their parents. They ventured into the sea, ignoring warning signs.
Santhosh did not know to swim and was dragged deep into the waters. His friends tried looking for him but in vain. They waited by the shore for an hour but when he did not surface, they returned home.
The boys were scared and did not inform anybody about of the accident, the police said. Meanwhile Santhosh’s parents, S. Ramu (38), a welder, and his wife Neelavenni (35), were under the impression their son was out playing with his friends after school hours.
When he did not return late in the evening, Ramu and Neelavenni enquired with his friends and looked for him in the neighbourhood. On Friday, they informed the Villivakkam police.
It was fishermen at Kasimedu harbour who noticed the decomposed body of a schoolboy that washed ashore on Saturday morning and informed the Harbour police. Other police stations were alerted and Santhosh’s parents were called in to confirm the identity of the corpse.
“We have cautioned the public against venturing into the sea and have installed warning boards too. But people ignore them. The sea is often rough these days due to changes in weather,” said a police officer.
