One swept away in Cauvery, 3 rescued

Trichy: A 21-year-old man was swept away near the Kambarasampettai checkdam in the Cauvery while three of his friends were rescued from the strong currents in the river near Thanjavur on Saturday. The body was recovered 25km downstream on Sunday evening.Police said V Praveen, K Vignesh, and N Prasanna Venkatesh, all aged 21 years and from Uraiyur, and K Raman from Puthur Agraharam, went to the Kambarasampettai checkdam for bathing on Saturday afternoon. They were stuck in the strong currents of the river. Fire and rescue personnel were alerted around 2.30pm. The men tried to hold together till the help arrives, but Raman was swept away in the current. A ten-member rescue team led by P Sathiyavarathan of the Trichy station rescued Praveen, Vignesh, and Prasanna Venkatesh with ropes and life buoys. Later, an additional team led by L Sahayaraj from the Srirangam station and police joined the Trichy team in the search for Raman. The search continued for over a day.On Sunday evening, a passerby saw a shirtless body being swept away in the Cauvery and alerted the fire and rescue services station at Thirukattupalli in Thanjavur district. After 27 hours around 6pm on Sunday, a six-member team led by K Singaravel recovered the body near Pathirakudi. The body was sent to the Trichy govt hospital. The Jeeyapuram police registered a case under BNSS Section 194 (unnatural death) and are investigating.