2 bike-borne men fall into 10ft pit filled with water on road, escape

Coimbatore: Two men fell into a 10ft-deep pit that was filled with nearly 7ft-8ft water on Somanur Road on Monday night while they were heading to their rental room on Annur Road on a two-wheeler. While one of them managed to come out of the pit that was dug up for flyover work on his own in the early hours of Tuesday, passers-by recused the other one.

A police officer with Karumathampatti police station said the incident occurred when Devakumar and his friend Tamilselvan, both natives of Thukkanaickenpalayam in Erode district, were returning to their rental room from Somanur. They are employed with a private firm near Karumathampatti on the outskirts of the city.

“Due to heavy rain, Devakumar, who was riding the two-wheeler, didn’t see the water-filled pit on the road and fell into it with the vehicle,” the officer said.

On Tuesday morning, passers-by found Devakumar in the pit. He was holding on to a cable. They rescued him and sent him to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH).

‘He told the public that his friend Tamilselvan had drowned in the pit and they started looking for him, but in vain. They retrieved the motorcycle and a helmet from the pit and alerted us and the fire and rescue services department,” the officer said.

While they launched a search for the missing person, Tamilselvan reached the spot and told police that he had managed to come out of the pit in the early hours of Tuesday and requested them to search for his friend Devakumar, who he thought had drowned in the pit.

“We told him that the public had rescued his friend. Tamilselvan was also sent to the CMCH. Blood samples would be taken from the duo to see if they were under the influence of alcohol,” the officer said.