Men who died in Scots waterfall horror accident named as Dundee University students

Two men who were found dead at a Scots waterfall in a horror accident have been locally named as Dundee University students.

Jitendranath ‘Jitu’ Karuturi, aged 26, and and Chanhakya Bolisetti, 22, are understood to have been taking a picture at Linn of Tummel, Blair Atholl, in Perthshire, when they fell into the water on Wednesday, April 17, The Courier reports.

The pair, who were from India, were both studying master’s degrees in data science and engineering. They had been hiking with another friend when the incident happened.

Emergency services received a report of two men, aged 22 and 26 years, in the water around 7pm yesterday. Following searches of the area, two bodies were recovered from the water.

Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances, however, there would not appear to be any suspicious circumstances.

Jitu had previously studied at the University of Hartford, Connecticut, in the USA. He had been working at the popular Taza Indian buffet restaurant in Dundee.

Manager of the eatery, Vaseem Salimi, told the Courier: "Everybody is devastated. Jitu was really popular with everybody.

“He was very polite and mild-mannered – you would get no drama from him.

“He was calm all the time. He never had an argument or fell out with anybody.

“He was extremely reliable for work. He never let us down ever.

“He was hard working and never got flustered when it was busy.”

He contined: "We will have our own tribute to him at the end of the week because it is such a shock to the staff.

“We have some young girls, school leavers, working here who are in a state of shock.

“We want to do something to help them come to terms with it.

“Jitu had just finished his master’s course and was telling everyone his plans about what he was doing now.

“He was going to go to Canada to see his sister, and was excited about his plans. What has happened is devastating for everyone.”

Chanhakya graduated from the JNTUH College of Engineering Hyderabad in 2022.

A spokesperson for Dundee University told the Courier: “This has been a tragic accident which has shocked us all, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of the students.

“We have been providing support to those families and friends at this extremely difficult time.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 7pm on Wednesday, we received a report of two men, aged 22 and 26 years, in the water at the Linn of Tummel waterfall near Blair Atholl.

“Emergency services attended and following searches in the area, the bodies of two men were recovered from the water.

“Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances, however, there would not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding these deaths. A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”

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