Five people were washed away in flash floods when they were taking bath in the Cauvery at Reddiyur, near Mettur, on Sunday. By dusk, the rescue teams managed to recovere four bodies.
Gopal of Reddiyur was working at the Mettur Thermal Power Station. His brother, Saravanan, 35, of Vijayamangalam in Erode district, along with his family, visited Mr. Gopal’s house on Sunday.
At 11 a.m., Mr. Gopal’s daughter — Dhanusri, 18 — pursuing second-year BE; Vanisri, 20, pursuing third-year BE; along with Saravanan; his wife Mythili, 32; son Hariharan, 9; and Mythili’s niece Raveena, 15, went to the river to take bath.
Unaware of the flow levels — the river was carrying 20,000 cusecs at that time — they waded a little deeper and were caught in sudden floods. People along the river who saw them struggling for their lives, raised an alarm. However, they could rescue only Dhanusri.
Soon Fire and Rescue Services personnel, local fishermen and the police arrived at the spot. As many as eight coracles were deployed in search operations carried out by over 40 persons. After four hours of intense search, the bodies of Saravanan, Mythili, Vanisri and Raveena were recovered and were sent to Government Hospital in Mettur. Search operations to locate Hariharan was called off at 5.30 p.m. due to poor light.
The incident took place despite the district administration warning people not to enter the river which was in spate for the last three days.
Salem Collector Rohini R. Bhajibhakare visited the spot and oversaw the rescue operations. Grief-stricken relatives of the victims and villagers gathered in large numbers near the river. Officials plan to intensify the search and widen the area of search for locating Hariharan.
