Chennai, Oct 5:
Four school students–two boys and two girls–who were reported missing since yesterday afternoon, were found dead with bodies floating in the Thiruneermalai lake, also called as Periya Eri (Big Lake) near Tambaram on Sunday.
Police suspect that the children would have drowned by getting caught in the slush while playing in the lake. The deceased were identified as K Devadarshan (12), D Yuvanesh (10), Pooja (13) and Khushi (13), police said.
The four were friends and neighbours and were residing at Chromepet. Devadarshan was a Class 7 student and Pooja and Khushi were studying in Class 8 at a government school, while Yuvanesh was a Class 6 student at a private school.
The children were reportedly playing together near their houses on Saturday afternoon, when they suddenly went missing. After a frantic search by the parents, family members and locals, apart from sharing their photos through local WhatsApp groups, the children could not be traced.
Acting on a missing complaint lodged late last night by the parents of the boys, the Chromepet police alerted their counterparts at Tambaram, Egmore and Chennai Central railway stations and the Kelambakkam bus terminus to trace them.
After night long searches, their bodies were found floating at the Thiruneermalai lake today morning by the members of the public. Acting on information, police and fire and rescue services department personnel rushed to the spot and fished out the bodies. After identification by their parents, the bodies were shifted to Tambaram District Government Hospital for autopsy.
Police have registered a case and started investigations to to ascertain how the children reached the lake.