Rescue teams on Monday retrieved three bodies of those who drowned when a coracle capsized in Hogenakkal on Sunday, from the Cauvery from different spots.
The victims belong to a family from Chennai who went on a boat ride. Six persons of the same family from Chennai, including two children, drowned on Sunday. The bodies of Gowri (55) and two-and-half-year old Darshan were retrieved within a few hours of the tragedy.
Meanwhile, the Hogenakkal police arrested coracle operator Murugan (50), who was absconding since the tragedy on Sunday.
The rescue teams comprising police, fire and rescue service personnel and the coracle drivers continued the search operation for the second day on Monday. One of the teams spotted the body of Gokila (30), wife of Ranjith, near Sengapadi Attur village, about 20 km from Hogenakkal, on the Dharmpuri–Salem border at noon.
The bodies of Ranjith (35) and his father Krishnamoorthy (60) were retrieved one after the other in the evening from Manalthittu village near Hogenakkal. All the bodies were shifted to Government Headquarters Hospital here for post-mortem.
The rescue operations were suspended after sunset. They will be resumed on Tuesday to trace the body of Subhiksha, ten-month-old daughter of Gokila. Official sources said that senior revenue and police officials were monitoring the search operation.
Police sources said the personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Arakkonam were expected to join the search operations.
