An outing on Christmas evening ended in tragedy for two families as two boys drowned in a pond formed in an abandoned stone quarry in Tirusulam on Thursday.
Ebenezer (15) of Alandur and his classmate Srinath (15) of Nanganallur had left home after informing their parents that they were going to meet a friend. However, the boys headed to one of the deep ponds in the quarry, Pallavaram police said. They went for a swim, but ventured a bit too far and drowned.
When the boys did not return home in the evening, their parents panicked. Ebenezer’s parents and relatives went to the pond late in the night and noticed the clothes of their son and his friend on the banks. They also informed Pallavaram police station. Firemen from Tambaram reached the spot early on Friday morning. They entered the pond in an inflatable boat and divers searched for more than four hours, but were unable to trace the boys.
The pond was nearly 200 feet deep, firemen said.
Around 4 p.m., Srinath’s body surfaced, followed by Ebenezer’s an hour later. The bodies were taken to Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital in Chromepet for post-mortem. Both were class X students in a government-aided school in Alandur.
Residents said Tiruneermalai, Shankar Nagar, Tirusulam, Zamin Pallavaram and Pulikuradu are dotted with such ponds. Even expert swimmers have drowned, they said. Deaths due to drowning occur frequently, especially during summer, they added.