The Nilgiris: A fun trip turned tragic for a group of friends as two of them drowned in Kalhatti waterfalls in the Nilgiris on Sunday.
The Nilgiris: A fun trip turned tragic for a group of friends as two of them drowned in Kalhatti waterfalls in the Nilgiris on Sunday.
The deceased has been identified as Samuel (24) and Ganesh (24) both residents of Elkhill area in Ooty. According to police, the duo along with five other friends visited the Kalhatti waterfalls in Segur road in the Nilgiris district to spend their weekend.
While five of them chose to stay back, Ganesh and Samuel who do not know to swim decided to bathe in the falls and also insisted their friends to take video of them. Their friends who were seated on a rock were recording and clicking pictures of the duo, and unexpectedly both Ganesh and Samuel went missing from the waterfall area.
Shocked by the incident, their friends searched and shouted for them along the waterfalls and also alerted the police who rushed to the spot along with the fire and rescue department.
Despite launching a search immediately, the bodies of the youth were missing. Due to poor lighting, the rescue team wound up their rescue operations on Sunday evening.
However, the rescue operations that began this morning also vent in vain as the bodies were still missing. "A team of 21 rescue staff from national disaster team from Arakonnam will be assisting us tomorrow", told a fire and rescue officer.
Meanwhile, the public have expressed their discontent over the issue alleging the forest department for not placing warning boards near the waterfalls which reportedly has claimed several lives, earlier. The public and social activists in the Nilgiris have accused that the Kalhatti falls which is under the control of the forest department does not have any safety precautions. The forest department should depute watchers to ensure the safety of the tourists who throng the waterfalls for sightseeing and bathing.
The deceased has been identified as Samuel (24) and Ganesh (24) both residents of Elkhill area in Ooty. According to police, the duo along with five other friends visited the Kalhatti waterfalls in Segur road in the Nilgiris district to spend their weekend.
While five of them chose to stay back, Ganesh and Samuel who do not know to swim decided to bathe in the falls and also insisted their friends to take video of them. Their friends who were seated on a rock were recording and clicking pictures of the duo, and unexpectedly both Ganesh and Samuel went missing from the waterfall area.
Shocked by the incident, their friends searched and shouted for them along the waterfalls and also alerted the police who rushed to the spot along with the fire and rescue department.
Despite launching a search immediately, the bodies of the youth were missing. Due to poor lighting, the rescue team wound up their rescue operations on Sunday evening.
However, the rescue operations that began this morning also vent in vain as the bodies were still missing. "A team of 21 rescue staff from national disaster team from Arakonnam will be assisting us tomorrow", told a fire and rescue officer.
Meanwhile, the public have expressed their discontent over the issue alleging the forest department for not placing warning boards near the waterfalls which reportedly has claimed several lives, earlier. The public and social activists in the Nilgiris have accused that the Kalhatti falls which is under the control of the forest department does not have any safety precautions. The forest department should depute watchers to ensure the safety of the tourists who throng the waterfalls for sightseeing and bathing.