At Dharapuram, six boys drown in the Amaravathi River.

Six boys, including five school children, drowned in the River Amaravathi in Dharapuram in Tiruppur district on Monday in a terrible occurrence. 

M. Amirtha Krishnan, 18, R. Sridhar, 17, R. Ranjith, 20, T. Yuvan, 19, T. Mohan, 17, and M. Chakkaravarman, 18, all from Annamalai Garden in Iduvai near Tiruppur, were part of a group on pilgrimage to the Muniyappan temple in Mambarai near Oddanchatram in Dindigul district, according to the police.

On Monday, some 30 members of the neighbourhood travelled to the temple in two vehicles. Thirteen of the group's youths boarded one car on their way back from the temple, while the remaining 17 elders boarded another. Around 4 p.m., the boys pulled over near Athupalam, and eight of them — Ranjith, a college student, and the others — decided to take a dip in the Amaravathi. 

They cried for rescue as soon as they were in the river. Two of them, Jeeva and Saran, were rescued by the other lads who were inside the parked vehicle. According to the authorities, the six others had gone deep into the river and drowned.

They cried for rescue as soon as they were in the river. Two of them, Jeeva and Saran, were rescued by the other lads who were inside the parked vehicle. According to the authorities, the six others had gone deep into the river and drowned. 

"None of the boys knew how to swim, and the river was about 15 feet deep at that point," said S. Jayachandran, Station Officer of Dharapuram Fire Station, who led the operation to recover the bodies after receiving a call from the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services control room in Chennai at 4.20 p.m. The operation, which lasted around an hour, involved roughly ten fire and rescue service employees from Dharapuram Fire Station. By 5.30 p.m., six bodies had been retrieved ,he stated.

The bodies were handed over to Dharapuram police, who had them autopsied at the local Government Hospital. 

R. Dhanarasu, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dharapuram Sub-division), who visited the scene, informed The Hindu that the Tiruppur District Police will work with the Public Works Department to prevent such tragedies.