2 MAHBUBNAGAR STUDENTS, TEACHER DROWN IN TN

Two Class X boys and their young teacher from a school in Andhra Pradesh drowned in the sea at Mahabalipuram on Saturday evening. Their bodies could not be located till late night though several fishermen in catamarans were searching the area, police said.

They said 41 students and seven teachers from the Little Star School at Narayanapuram in Mahbubnagar district of AP were on an excursion trip. They had arrived at Mahabalipuram on Saturday. They went to the beach and some of them stepped into the waters to play.

Suddenly, Class X students Kishore Kumar and Akilesh Kumar began screaming that they were being pulled into the deeper water by the current. One of the teachers, Suresh, aged about 35, jumped in to save the two boys.

However, all the three disappeared in the waves, police said quoting eyewitnesses.

“The terrified students and teachers rushed to the police station to report the mishap. We immediately arranged for the local fishermen to get into the sea on their catamarans to rescue the three persons. However, there is no trace of them yet”, said Mabalipuram police inspector R. Sigamani.

He said the search would be resumed by the dawn of Sunday. The school group went to Chennai for the night and some teachers might return in the morning to help in the search, the inspector said.