5 girls bathing in tank die in southern India

POTHAMPATTI, India, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Police at Pothampatti in southern India said five schoolgirls drowned after getting stuck in sludge at the bottom of a tank while they bathed.

The deceased, identified as G. Kalaiselvi,13; R. Ramya, 15; S. Ponmani,10; M. Matharasi, 13; and her sister, M. Ramya, 8, along with two other girls, were at school studying Sunday when they decided to go to the tank to take a bath, The Times of India reported.

Five girls entered the tank; the other two did not.

The tank was full because of recent rainfall and had thick sludge at the bottom in which the five girls got stuck, police said.

"They have gone deep into the waters and got trapped in the sludge. The two girls who witnessed the drowning of the five are yet to fully recover from the shock. They could not describe the event in a coherent manner,'' a police officer said.

None of the girls knew how to swim, police said.

The two girls who did not get into the tank ran into the village and told their parents what happened, police said. While parents of the deceased rushed to the tank, other villagers informed police and fire service personnel.

Fire officials recovered the girls' bodies.

Villagers told police that the girls seldom visited the tank.

"They rarely went to the tank. But since it was a Sunday and the tank was brimming with water; they might have been lured to take a bath,'' a police officer said.