Amaravati, Feb 26 Five youths drowned in the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district on Wednesday morning as they entered the waters to take a bath ahead of prayers on Maha Shivratri, officials said, adding that all the bodies have been recovered.
The incident occurred at Tadipudi in Tallapudi mandal of the district. A group of 11 students, all aged under 20, had gone to the river for a bath early morning.
However, with no idea of the depth of the river, they started drowning soon after they stepped into the waters. According to eyewitnesses, they tried to save each other and in the process, five of them were drowned. The remaining six youths managed to reach the river bank safely.
Alerted by the locals, police rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation with the help of swimmers. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and fire service personnel also joined the rescue effort.
Initially, the bodies of three of the youth were recovered by the NDRF personnel. They were identified as P. Durga Prasad,19, Tirumalashetti Pavan, 17, and P. Sai Krishna, 19.
Later the rescue workers found the bodies of G. Akash, 19, and Anishetty Pavan, 19.
The youth were intermediate or degree students in Kovvur, Tallapudi, and Rajamahendravaram and hailed from the same village. As Wednesday was a holiday for their colleges on account of Maha Shivratri, they decided to go to the river for a bath. Survivors said after taking the bath, they planned to go to a temple for puja on Maha Shivratri.
The bodies of all five deceased were shifted to a government hospital for autopsy. Families of the missing students rushed to the spot and were seen crying inconsolably.
Senior police and revenue officials supervised the search operation.
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