3 drown in Cauvery river pits

: Three persons, including two engineering students, drowned when they fell into a 15-feet deep pit, allegedly created due to sand mining, in Cauvery river at two places in the district today, police said.

Murali and Ramkumar (20), of a private engineering college in Pollachi, drowned in the sand pit here while taking bath in the river.

In another incident, Subramani (60) drowned in a deep sand pit at Lalapet near here.

The pits had been formed as a result of sand miners using heavy machinery, a local resident alleged.