Lockdown tragedy: Siblings drown learning to swim in Bhavani in front of dad

Erode: In a poignant tragedy, two siblings, trying to learn swimming, drowned in the Bhavani river near here, in the presence of their father who was giving them instructions from the river bank on Sunday.

Police said on Monday that Tamizhselvan of Pudupalayam village near Andhiyur in Erode district, had decided to teach his two sons - Ganesh (22) and Sivaraj (18)-, swimming in a bid to get over the lockdown boredom as all of them have been confined to their homes for too long.

While Ganesh, who has completed his B.Com, was already staying at home, his younger brother, Sivaraj, also a Commerce student, came home after his college had closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Tamizhselvan accompanied both his sons to the Aapakudal point of Bhavani river and standing on the bank began giving instructions on how to learn swimming after the two youth had stepped into the river.

Suddenly, Ganesh by accident, went into the deeper part of the river and was being sucked into by the swift currents. When Sivaraj went to his rescue, tragically, both the siblings went under the waters.

Their shocked father Tamizhselvan immediately jumped into the river and tried to rescue both his sons, police said. People nearby also swam across for a rescue act, but unfortunately, after some searching, they could only fish out the bodies of both the youth.

Seeing both his sons dead, that too in front of his very eyes, Tamizhselvan wailed inconsolably. On information, police rushed to the spot, retrieved the two bodies and sent it to Andhiyur government hospital for post-mortem. Further investigations are on as their entire village is drowned in grief.
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