Man slips into Cooum from bridge while clicking selfie, rescued

CHENNAI: A 30-year-old man who allegedly slipped into the Cooum river, while trying to take a selfie lying on the Napier Bridge wall, was rescued after eight hours on Wednesday morning.I Karthik, a daily wage labourer from Periamet, fell into the river around 10 pm on Tuesday. “Around 6 am, some passers-by saw him struggling in neck-deep water, and they alerted the police personnel, who were manning a checkpoint near the War Memorial,” a senior police officer said

Sub-Inspector Kumar, attached to the Anna Square police station, and Grade-I Constable Chinnasamy rushed to the spot and rescued him by tying a rope around his hip. Police confirmed Karthik was not under the influence of alcohol. After asking him to bathe at a common toilet near the beach, Karthik was sent home. “I had actually come near the Napier bridge around 1 pm and sent away some people who were trying to take selfies. I don’t know if the man really stood in the river for eight hours, but that is what he claims,” SI Kumar said.