Two students swept away by strong currents in Bhavani river near Mettupalayam

Coimbatore: An engineering student drowned and a schoolboy was missing after they were swept away by a sudden surge of water in the Bhavani river near Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district on Tuesday. On Tuesday night, fire and rescue services personnel recovered the body R Kishore, 20, of K K Nagar in Mettupalayam who was a second-year BE mechanical engineering student at a private college in Coimbatore. Search was on for the missing schoolboy, identified as S Akash, 17, of Karamadai. He is a Class XII student at private school in Karamadai.Police said the two reached the riverbank near the Vilamarathur water pump area around 1pm. They were part of a group of nine friends who gathered there to bathe in the river. The outing turned tragic when the water flow suddenly increased.Friends of the victims said Kishore and Akash were caught off guard by a sudden surge of water and strong undercurrents. On being alerted by the group, Mettupalayam police and fire and rescue services personnel rushed to the spot and began search operations.The Coimbatore district police issued an advisory to the public, urging people to avoid entering river areas during periods of high flow and to refrain from bathing in high-current zones.