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Two postgraduate students from the Madras School of Economics (MSE) drowned after being swept away by strong waves at Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar on the morning of Saturday, October 11. The victims were part of a group of 14 first-year MA Economics students who had gone to the beach from their hostel in Kotturpuram.
According to media reports, the students reached the beach around 7.30 am and entered the water near the Governor’s Guest House. Three of them, Kavi Prakash (21) of Dindigul, Rohit Chandran (20) of Uttar Pradesh, and Mohammed Adil (21) of Kerala, were dragged into deeper waters by a sudden strong wave.
On hearing their cries for help, local fishermen and beachgoers rushed to the spot and managed to pull out Kavi Prakash and Mohammed Adil. They were taken to the Government Royapettah Hospital, where doctors declared Kavi Prakash dead on arrival. Mohammed Adil, who had inhaled large amounts of water, was admitted to a private hospital in critical condition.
Search and rescue teams from the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, along with Shastri Nagar police, immediately launched an operation to trace Rohit Chandran, who remained missing.
According to Daily Thanthi, Rohit’s body was found washed ashore near Pattinapakkam beach. Police recovered the body and sent it for a postmortem.
The Kotturpuram police have registered a case and are investigating the incident.