Two students of the Government High School at Chikkanna Kuppam village near Vaniyambadi town in Tirupattur on Tuesday evening drowned in an open pit that got filled up in rain within the campus.
Police said the victims were V. Rajalakshmi (14), and G. Monika (10),.class nine and six students in the school respectively. The students came to the campus after school hours to play when they mistakenly fell into the open pit, which is around 10 feet deep, in the campus.
The open pit got filled up due to recent rains in the area. As the duo did not return home after long hours, parents searched. Based on the alert, Ambalur police and residents searched for the students and later they fished them out of the pit. The incident happened around 6.30 p.m on Tuesday. Bodies were sent to Government Taluk Hospital in Vaniyambadi. A case has been filed.
Initial inquiry by the police revealed that the pit was dug up to lay foundation stone for additional classrooms and compound wall for the school. The on-going work was started more than a fortnight ago by a private contractor after getting prior nod from the school authorities. Police said that no safety measures have been taken by the school authorities to barricade the open pit to prevent students from falling into it. Further investigation is on, police said.
