Three kids of family drown in stagnant water in a pit

Chennai: Three children, aged between 11 and 7, of a couple working in a brick kiln, drowned in stagnant water in a pit near a brick kiln in Vellaivedu, in neighbouring Tiruvallur district, on Monday. The deceased girls and boy were identified as Vinitha, 12, a class 5 student, Vishnupriya, 7, a class 1 student, and Viswa, 9, a class 3 student of a nearby school.

The family was staying with nearly 100 others who worked, camping near the brick kiln owned by Karunakaran of Saidapet. The three children of the Veeran–Boomadevi couple, hailing from Thirukoviloor, in Villupuram district, were playing in the area when they went missing on Monday evening.

Veeran had gone out at that time while Boomadevi was busy with work. The couple noticed that the children were missing only late in the evening. They immediately started searching for them and found them in the pit.The pit dug to collect water during the recent rains, was a few feet deep and the children had slipped into it and drowned, the police said. A Vellaivedu police team rushed to the spot and sent the bodies to the Tiruvallur GH.