Two Dundee University students drown after falling into waterfall

Tributes have been paid to two students at the University of Dundee who drowned after falling into a waterfall at a Highland beauty spot.

Jitendranath Karuturi, 26, who was known as Jitu, and Chanhakya Bolisetti, 22, are believed to have been taking selfies at the Linn of Tummel waterfall, near Blair Atholl, on Wednesday evening when they slipped and fell into the river.

The men were reportedly swept away, witnessed by a friend who was with them on their walk. The Scottish fire and rescue service sent two rescue boats to the river and recovered their bodies that evening.

Karuturi and Bolisetti were master’s students from India reading data science and engineering; the Courier newspaper reported that Karuturi also worked as a waiter at the City Quay restaurant.

“Everyone is devastated. Jitu was really popular with everybody,” Vaseem Salimi, the restaurant’s manager, told the paper. “He had just finished his master’s and was telling everyone his plans about what he was doing now. It was devastating for everyone.

“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.”

The pair had started their courses in January 2023 and were due to finish in May. Karuturi had degrees from the University of Hartford, in Connecticut. Chanhakya graduated from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, in Hyderabad, in 2022 and since August last year he had been a student ambassador at Dundee.

The university said: “This has been a tragic accident which has shocked us all and our thoughts are with the families and friends of the students.”

Details of the accident emerged on Thursday morning. Police Scotland said there were no suspicious circumstances and a report would be submitted to the procurator fiscal.

The force said in a statement: “Around 7pm on Wednesday 17 April 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. Inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances, however there would not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding these deaths.”