Two girl children drowned in the Suththamalli check-dam near here on Saturday afternoon.
Police said M. Mariammal, 26, of Suththamalli near here had taken her two daughters — Niranjani, 4 and Madhuri Devi, 7 months — to the Suththamalli check-dam on Saturday afternoon. Mariammal was cuddling Madhuri Devi while crossing the check-dam along with Niranjani, who was walking along the retaining wall, when the girl tripped and fell into the water.
In a bid to rescue Niranjani, Mariammal jumped into the water along with Madhuri Devi. As the children drowned, Mariammal was unable to rescue both of them.
After Mariammal screamed for help, passers-by rushed to the spot even as some of them informed the fire and rescue services over the phone. The body of Madhuri Devi was retrieved by the rescuers, while the fire and rescue services personnel retrieved the body of Niranjani after two hour-long search operation. The bodies were sent to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem.
Suththamalli police have registered a case.
