The Hindu

• They were caught in silt; one boy escapes 

Mysore, Mar 27: Four students of a school from Doddagardehalli village in K.R. Pet taluk in Mandya district died on Sunday after they entered a water tank and were caught in slush.

On Sunday, five boys sauntered out for an evening of frolic and decided to swim in the Mathikere water tank.

Police said the depth of the tank was not more than five feet. But it was full of silt and it is suspected that four students were caught in it. The deceased were identified as Avinash (14) who was a student of eighth standard, Dileep (12) studying in the seventh standard, Yogesh (10) of sixth standard and Raghavendra (8), a third standard student.

Another student Ravi managed to swim to safety. He ran back to the village and informed the public, who immediately contacted the police and rushed to the tank to launch a rescue operation.

Mandya rural police pressed expert divers into service but the boys are now presumed dead. The bodies are yet to be recovered. Police said extricating the bodies may take a longer time as they are suspected to be buried in the slush. Senior police officers including Mandya Superintendent of Police K.V. Sridhar visited the spot.