Two children drown in pond at Koovagam village during summer visit

KALLAKURICHI: Two children drowned in a pond at Koovagam village near Ulundurpet on Saturday, police said.

According to police sources, A Kuppu (50), a resident of T Edaiyur village in Thiruvannainallur, Villupuram, had been staying in Koovagam village in Ulundurpet taluk for the past week along with her son A Arulnidhi and others. “Kuppu rears ducks and had brought them to Koovagam to graze near lakes and ponds,” a police official said.

Kuppu’s four-year-old grandson V Rudhreshwaran and her 11-year-old niece R Jayalakshmi, a resident of North Nemili in Tirukovilur taluk, were staying with her during the summer holidays.

On Saturday, while Kuppu was herding ducks near a pond, Jayalakshmi and Rudhreshwaran went to bathe in the water. “On noticing that the children were drowning, Kuppu raised an alarm. Arulnidhi and others rushed to the spot and rescued them,” the police added.

The children were first taken to the Thiruvannainallur Primary Health Centre, where they received first aid, and later shifted to a private hospital in Villupuram. “Doctors at the hospital declared both children dead,” the police said.

Thirunavalur police recovered the bodies and sent them to the Villupuram Government Medical College Hospital in Mundiampakkam for postmortem.