Youth’s body fished out of check dam

Coimbatore: The fire and rescue services personnel on Saturday retrieved the body of a 19-year-old man, who was swept away while immersing a Ganesha idol in Noyyal river on Wednesday evening, from Chithirai Chavadi check dam.
The deceased, identified as A Ramkumar of Indira Colony at Viraliyur, was a wall painter. “Ramkumar and his elder brother A Manikandan, 22, also a wall painter, had gone to Ikkarai Boluvampatti near Alandurai on September 4 to immerse a Ganesha idol along with some members of Hindu outfits as part of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. Ramkumar was reported missing after the immersion,” a police officer said.
Police came to know that Manikandan was also missing the next day. As many as 22 fire and rescue services personnel and 56 police personnel launched a search to trace the siblings. They searched for more than two kilometres to find Ramkumar’s body on Saturday around 10.30am. It was sent to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for postmortem.
The firemen are still searching for Manikandan.
The rural police have taken steps to prevent drownings during idol immersion events, sources said.