Hyderabad, Sep 8 (IANS): Four people drowned Thursday after being caught in flood waters in a river in Andhra Pradesh, police said.

The accident happened in Kinnerasani river, a tributary of the Godavari, in Khammam district, about 250 km from here.

Four others were missing, said a police officer.

A group of agricultural labourers was crossing the river which was already in spate to go to a village on the other side.

The locals saved two of them.

Four bodies were fished out of the river while rescue workers continued searching for four others.

Senior district officials rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue operations.

Godavari and Krishna, the two major rivers which flow through Andhra Pradesh, and their tributaries are in spate due to heavy rains in the upstream region during last few days.

Meanwhile, about a dozen villages near Pulichintala project across the Krishna river in Guntur district are facing a flood threat.

The officials have sounded an alert in the villages on the banks of the river.