In one of the tragic incidents during the Chennai floods, a 72-year-old retired Army officer, Lt.Col. G. Venkatesan drowned along with his wife at their house.
According to a report in The New Indian Express , Col. Venkatesan and his wife Geetha drowned inside their ground floor residence, “Geethalaya” in Defence officers colony of Ekkatuthangal locality in Chennai.
The couple was trapped amidst the rising water level in their home as they could not open the door. One of the neighbours, J Sasikala recalled that the couple was last heard speaking to their daughter over phone.
“It was Tuesday night (December 1). Heavy floods from the overflowing river started engulfing the colony and the water level started rising. Our family including three kids moved to the first floor as the water level was just below the first floor balcony,” J Sasikala, the army officer’s neighbour recalled while speaking to The New Indian Express.
” It seems they couldn’t locate the door keys in the flood waters. I could hear him shouting over phone to his daughter until the mobile services eventually went off,” Sasikala said.
A day after the incident, their dead bodies were recovered by the Rescue Officers and later handed over to the couple’s daughter and son-in-law after autopsy.