Tiruvannamalai: Four residents of a government-run girls' protection shelter and their hostel warden drowned in Samuthiram Lake near Perumbakkam in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai district on Monday, November 9, police said. The group had gone to the lake for a bath during the Deepavali holidays.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

The warden was identified in reports as Thenmozhi. Awaaz Punjab is not naming the four shelter residents, who were described in reporting as children in a government protection home.

According to preliminary information reported by IANS, one of the girls is believed to have got into difficulty while in the water and begun drowning, and the others also got into trouble, resulting in all five losing their lives. Both IANS and Nation Press noted that the exact sequence of events, and whether any of them attempted to rescue the others, had not yet been officially established.

Source: Nation Press

Bodies recovered, case registered

On receiving information about the incident, local police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed to the lake and launched a search operation. Rescue personnel recovered all five bodies from the water, and the bodies were sent to a government hospital for post-mortem examinations.

Police have registered a case and begun an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths. Investigators are expected to examine whether the lake had dangerous underwater conditions, such as sudden changes in depth or other hazards, that could have contributed to the tragedy.

Questions over shelter-home outing safety

The deaths have raised questions about the safety arrangements and supervision of children residing in government-run protection homes, particularly when they are taken outside institutional premises during holidays. Authorities are expected to examine whether appropriate permission had been obtained for the outing and whether adequate precautions were taken before the group entered the lake.

Further details are awaited as police continue their investigation.