Kanniyakumari,: Five students of a private medical college in Tiruchirappalli drowned in the sea off the coast of Kanniyakumari on Monday, police said.

Expressing grief, Chief Minister MK Stalin conveyed his condolences and sympathies to the kin of the deceased and said necessary assistance would be provided to the bereaved families after getting the Election Commission's permission.

A group of MBBS students doing their house surgeonship in the Tiruchirappalli college went to the Lemur Beach at Rajakkamangalam and a huge wave dragged several of them into the sea.

"Two women and three men drowned," Kanniyakumari police superintendent E Sundaravathanam said.

To a question, the police official said the students were told by locals to avoid going to the beach in view of official warnings of sudden 'swell waves'.

The students, however, managed to reach the beach by going through a coconut grove. They arrived in Kanniyakumari district on May 5 to take part in the wedding of a student's brother, the official said, adding the bodies were being sent to the families.

Three students, who were part of the group, are being treated at a government hospital.

A government press release here said two women, Gayathri (25) and Charukavi (23) and three men, Sarvadarshit (23), Praveen Sam (23) and Venkatesh (24) were dragged into the sea and drowned. Of the five deceased, Venkatesh is a native of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and others hail from various regions of Tamil Nadu.