Chennai, May 6 : In a heart-wrenching incident, three persons, including two teenagers, drowned in a temple pond on Tuesday morning while participating in the Brahmotsavam festival in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.

The victims have been identified as Hariharan (16), Venkatramanan (17), and Veeraraghavan (24), all students pursuing Vedic studies at the Ahobila Mutt in Selaiyur, Chennai.

The trio had travelled to Tiruvallur to take part in the annual festival at the Sri Vaidhya Veeraraghava Swamy Temple, a prominent religious event that draws devotees from across the region.

According to a senior official of the Tiruvallur police, the three went to the temple pond early Tuesday morning to perform their daily religious ablutions, which are customary for students of Vedic traditions.

While they were at the pond, one of them -- believed to be Hariharan -- accidentally slipped and fell into the deeper part of the water.

Witnessing their friend struggling to stay afloat, Venkatramanan and Veeraraghavan immediately jumped in to rescue him. Tragically, none of them were able to make it back to safety.

Eyewitnesses reported that within minutes, all three had disappeared under the water.

The temple authorities, upon noticing the incident, raised an alarm, prompting fire and rescue personnel from the Tiruvallur fire station to rush to the scene.

Rescue workers retrieved the bodies after a thorough search of the pond. The bodies were subsequently transported to the Tiruvallur District Government Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination.

The Tiruvallur city police have registered a case and have initiated further investigations into the incident.

The tragedy has cast a pall of gloom over the temple festival, with devotees and locals expressing deep sorrow over the untimely deaths.

The authorities have also issued a reminder to exercise caution around temple ponds and water bodies, especially during crowded festival occasions.

/IANS