Chennai: Four schoolchildren who went missing from their homes in Chromepet on Saturday were found dead in Thiruneermalai Periya Lake on Sunday, police said.
The deceased, who were close friends and lived on Krishna Street in Lakshmipuram, Chromepet, were identified as K. Devadarshan (12), D. Yuvanesh (10), and Pooja and Khushi, both aged 13. The group comprised two boys and two girls.
Devadarshan was a Class 7 student at a government school, while Pooja and Khushi were studying in Class 8 at a government school. Yuvanesh was a Class 6 student at a private school.
According to police, the children were last seen playing together near their homes on Saturday afternoon. They subsequently left the area but did not return, prompting their families to search for them.
With no information about their whereabouts emerging even late into the night, the parents of the two boys lodged a missing persons complaint at Chromepet police station.
On Sunday, visitors to Thiruneermalai Periya Lake, near Lakshmipuram, spotted four bodies floating in the water and alerted the authorities. Police personnel and members of the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services rushed to the spot and retrieved the bodies.
The children’s family members identified them after the bodies were brought to the shore.
Police have launched an investigation to establish how the children reached the lake and the circumstances in which they entered the water. Investigators are also examining the sequence of events leading to the tragedy.