Three boys from a village drowned in a temple pond near Sellappanpettai village in Budalur taluk on Satuday.

The victims — S. Balamoorthy, 10, K. Madhavan , 10, and S. Jaswanth ,8, — were all residents of Thiruvenkadu Udayanpatti Keelatheru and students of the local government primary school. Balamoorthy and Madhavan were in Class V while Jaswanth was in Class III.

Tragedy struck after a mandalabishekam celebration at the Sundaramurthy Ayyanar Temple in Sellappanpettai village on Friday. The parents and villagers launched a search at night when the boys did not return home. Their school bags, clothes, and footwear were found on the banks of the Marudhakudi Pillaiyar Temple pond. The villagers entered the water to search and found the bodies of all three boys. Despite being rushed to Thanjavur Medical College Hospital, doctors declared them brought dead.

Initial police investigation suggests the boys drowned after entering a deep section of the pond, which had recently been dredged unevenly, creating dangerous pits.

The Vallam Police have registered a case and are investigating.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has announced a solatium of ₹3 lakh each to the bereaved families from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund.