Holiday break ends on tragic note; Four students and female warden drown in lake

CHENNAI: Five people drowned in Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, while celebrating Diwali holidays. The victims include four female students and a female warden. The incident occurred on Monday. The victims were residents of a government-run shelter home for girls in Perumbakkam, Thiruvannamalai. The students involved in the tragedy were identified as Vijayalakshmi, Alli, Bhumika, and Valliammal. All of them were living and studying at the facility.

The accident took place during a holiday break granted to the students for Diwali. The four students, accompanied by the shelter's warden, Thenmozhi, went to bathe in the Samuthiram Lake. However, things went awry as the students entered the shallow portion and drowned. The warden, Thenmozhi, also drowned while attempting to rescue them. Upon receiving the information, the police and the Fire Force arrived at the scene and, following a search operation, recovered the bodies of all five individuals from the lake. The bodies have been shifted to a government hospital for post-mortem examinations.