Toll of those drowned in Cauvery rises to nine

Erode: The number of persons that drowned after they were swept away by waters released from a barrage into Cauvery river in the district rose to nine after two boys were found to have drowned on the same day seven persons belonging to two Anglo-Indian families were swept away, police said.

Sureshkumar and Mohammed Asif, both 15, drowned in the river near Vendipalayam Bhavani Kattalai Barrage II on Jan 8, police said.

The body of one of the boys, Sureshkumar, had been recovered and identified by his father, they said. Search is on to find the body of Asif. The families of Sureshkumar and Asif had lodged a police complaint on Sunday after the boys went missing, police said.

It was on the same day that seven persons, including a11-year-old girl, belonging to two Anglo-Indian families drowned when water released suddenly into the river from Vendipalayam Electricity Barrage swept them away.

Police said out of seven persons washed away, the bodies of six had been recovered and search is on for the body of a 40-year-old woman.