The bodies of three teens, who went missing after they went bathing in the sea near Uvari in Tirunelveli district on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, were washed ashore in the early hours of Wednesday.
When passers-by spotted clothes left on the beach between Uvari and Navvaladi near Thisaiyanvilai on Tuesday evening but could not see anyone nearby, they alerted the Uvari police fearing that the sea-bathers may have drowned.
Uvari police, who rushed to the spot, found that Akash, 14, a class 10 student, Rahul, 13, a class 9 student, and Mukesh, 12, a class 8 student, all hailing from Navvaladi near Uvari, had come to the beach on Tuesday around 3.30 p.m. to bathe. After their search yielded no results, the police alerted the Koodankulam Coastal Security Group police and the Thisaiyanvilai fire and rescue service personnel, who launched a search operation even though it was after dusk. Fishermen too, joined in the search operation. Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu, also rushed to the spot and the search along the coast continued even after midnight, but was in vain.
Subsequently, the bodies of Akash and Rahul were washed ashore at Kodavilai near Navvaladi around 3.30 a.m. while the body of Mukesh was washed ashore at the same place around 6.30 a.m.
The Uvari police sent the bodies to the Government Kanniyakumari Medical College Hospital in Aasaaripallam for post-mortem examinations.
