A leisure trip to the beach ended in tragedy after two students of a private engineering college drowned while swimming off Bharathiyar Beach in Ennore on Saturday (July 25, 2026) morning.
The deceased were identified as Keerthika (19), a third-year B.Tech Information Technology student from Puducherry, and Akash (20), a second-year B.E. Electrical and Electronics Engineering student from Avadi, the Ennore police said.
According to the police, the victims were part of a group of five friends from a private engineering college in Soorapattu, Tiruvallur district, who had gone to the beach to swim and shoot videos for social media. The group also comprised Pavithra (18), a second-year B.Tech IT student, Shivani (19), a third-year B.Tech IT student, and Tharun (21), a B.Sc. graduate.
While they were in the sea, Akash and Keerthika were dragged away by strong currents. Fishermen rescued Keerthika and took her to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.
Personnel from the Fire and Rescue Services, with the assistance of local fishermen, launched a search for Akash. His body was recovered about three hours later and handed over to the police.
The bodies were sent to Government Stanley Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination. The Ennore police have registered a case and are investigating the circumstances leading to the drowning.
Published - July 25, 2026 03:33 pm IST