Three youth drowned in sea when a boat capsized at ‘Sannathi Kadal’ off Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district on Tuesday morning.
They were part of a group who had ventured into the sea apparently to take a holy dip in the sea on the occasion of Thai Ammavasai, an auspicious occasion.
The deceased were identified as Praveen (25), Udayendran (18) and Bharath (18) of Arcotuthurai fishing hamlet.
Eight others were rescued by fishermen and were rushed to hospital as they suffered from breathing difficulty.
Two of them were admitted in a critical condition to the Nagapattinam Government Hospital, and the others to the Vedaranyam Government Hospital.
Since the number of people on the boat could not be determined immediately, fishermen are continuing their search in the area that Marine Police had categorised as a prohibited zone for small boats.
