Tributes have been paid to a pair of Dundee University students who died in a tragic accident at a Perthshire waterfall.
Jitendranath ‘Jitu’ Karuturi, 26, and Chanhakya Bolisetti, 22, were swept away at Linn of Tummel, north of Pitlochry, on Wednesday evening.
It is understood that the pair, who were both studying for a master’s degree in data science and engineering, were taking a picture of themselves when they fell into the water.
The men, both from India, had been hiking with another friend when the tragedy happened.
The fire service sent two boat rescue units to the beauty spot.
After a search, two bodies were recovered.
Police are not treating the incident as suspicious.
Students were due to finish course next month
The pair both began the course in January 2023 and were due to finish in May.
Jitu had previous degrees from the University of Hartford, Connecticut.
For the past year, he had worked at the Taza Indian buffet restaurant in Dundee.
“Everybody is devastated,” said Vaseem Salimi, who manages the City Quay restaurant.
“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.”
Staff at restaurant shocked at Linn of Tummel tragedy
Vaseem added that Taza workers are planning to mark Jitu’s life privately.
“We will have our own tribute to him at the end of the week because it is such a shock to the staff,” he continued.
“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.”
Dundee University ‘supporting’ families and friends
Chanhakya graduated from the JNTUH College of Engineering Hyderabad in 2022.
Since August 2023 he had been a student ambassador at Dundee University.
A spokesperson for 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.
“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.
“Inquiries 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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