Five persons, including four girls, drown in irrigation tank in Tiruvannamalai

Collector Vandhana Garg and Superintendent of Police R. Uthayakumar during their inspection of the irrigation tank on Monday.

A staff nurse and four girls of a government-recognised children’s home for girls drowned in an irrigation tank at Samuthiram village here on Monday (November 9, 2026).

The deceased were identified as staff nurse Thenmozhi, 24, Vijayalakshmi, 14, Alli, 14, Poomika, 13, and Valliammal, 16. Except Valliammal, who belongs to Kilpennathur village, the other three girls are siblings from Karapattu village near Chengam. The deceased did not know swimming, the police said. Initial inquiry revealed the home had been functioning for over a decade in the area.

On Monday afternoon, Thenmozhi, along with around 13 girls, went to the irrigation tank on Perumbakkam Main Road to bathe. Poomika and her siblings and Valliammal stepped into the water and slipped and fell into a deeper portion of the irrigation tank. The police said Thenmozhi tried to save the children but also drowned.

Hearing the other girls’ shouts, the area’s residents rushed to the spot and alerted the Tiruvannamalai West police and firefighters. Firefighters retrieved the bodies and sent them to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Tiruvannamalai town for a post-mortem. A case has been registered.

Collector Vandhana Garg and Superintendent of Police R. Uthayakumar met the families of the deceased at the hospital in the presence of hospital dean Edvina Vasantah and inspected the irrigation tank. A probe is under way.