The bodies of three young men, who were washed away in the Peiyanattru Odai near Shenbagathoppu on Thursday afternoon, were retrieved on Friday.
Firemen pulled out the bodies of M. Muktheeswaran (23) and L. Palpandi (21) of Kottaipatti in the wild stream at around 7.30 a.m. Deputy Superintendent of Police (Srivilliputtur), Namasivayam, said that the two bodies were found with their hands clinging together. “Probably, one of them tried to help the other and both drowned,” he said.
The bodies had been washed away for more than one km from where the two had got into the stream for bathing. The third body, that of M. Gopinath (22), was retrieved at around 11.15 a.m. a few metres away.
“Since the current had reduced significantly, tracing of their bodies by our men was possible,” said Srivilliputtur Station Fire Officer, N. Sundara Gurusamy.
The police said that a group of friends from Kottaipatti had gone to Shenbagathoppu to bathe. While Palpandi tried to gauge the depth of the water in the stream, he was carried away by the current and raised an alarm for help. The other two, along with P. Sathyaprakash, jumped into the stream to rescue them. C. Sasikumar (23), who was on the bank at the time, threw a towel and rescued Sathyaprakash.
However, the other three were washed away.
The bodies were taken to the government hospital for post-mortem examinations. Mamsapuram police have registered a case.
