A class XII student, who had gone with a group of friends for a swim at a lake in Tirusalam on Thursday, drowned.
Pallavaram police said Duraibabu (17) of West Saidapet, was a student of Annai Anjugam School in West Mambalam. Since Thursday was a school holiday, Duraibabu and five of his friends for a swim to a deep lake formed in abandoned stone quarry in Tirusalam.
Duraibabu is reported to have ventured further into the lake. When he did not emerge, his friends panicked and called for help. Residents living around the lake called Pallavaram police, who in turn alerted fire service officers in Tambaram. A team of firemen arrived and managed to retrieve Duraibabu’s body at 5 p.m.
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Duraibabu is the latest victim in a series of drowning cases, especially of young boys in lakes formed in abandoned stone quarries dotting places such as Tiruneermalai, Tirusulam and Tambaram.
Earlier in the day, Usman Ali (38), an employee of a private welding firm, drowned in the sprawling Madambakkam periya eri. A resident of Agaram, Ali was reportedly upset after his wife and children left home, as he was an alcoholic. On Thursday morning, Ali drank, and plunged into the lake for a bath, only to be drowned. Selaiyur police are investigating.