Five teenagers drowned in a dam at Athoor, about 15km from Dindigul on Sunday.
The incident happened when a six-member group of friends from Bharathipuram had gone to take bath in the Kamarajar dam.
While one of them went to buy drinking water, others attempted to take bath and drowned. Quoting Sudarshan, who had gone to buy water, police said none of the other teens knew swimming.
The deceased, S Selvabarani, Loganathan and S Nagaraj, all aged 19, were BCom students of a Dindigul college. Karthigai Prabakaran, 19, another person who drowned, was working in an electrical store, while Bharath, 16, was studying in a government-aided school.
A fire and rescue team retrieved the bodies.