Daijiworld Media Network – Amaravati

Amaravati, Feb 26: Maha Shivratri celebrations turned into a heartbreaking tragedy for five families in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district as five youths drowned in the Godavari river on Wednesday.

The incident took place at Tadipudi in Tallapudi mandal when a group of 11 students, all under the age of 20, ventured into the river for a bath early in the morning. Unaware of the river’s depth, some of them began to struggle.

Eyewitnesses reported that as they attempted to save each other, five of them were unable to make it to the shore, while six managed to swim to safety.

Locals immediately alerted the authorities, prompting a swift response from the police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and fire service personnel. Rescue teams launched an extensive search operation to recover the missing youths.

By afternoon, the bodies of three victims were retrieved. The deceased have been identified as P Durga Prasad (19), Tirumalashetti Pavan (17), and P. Sai Krishna (19).

The search operation continued for the remaining two missing youths, identified as G. Akash (19) and Anishetty Pavan (19).

The group of friends, hailing from the same village, were pursuing intermediate and degree courses in Kovvur, Tallapudi, and

Rajamahendravaram. Taking advantage of the holiday for Maha Shivratri, they had gone to the river for a bath, intending to visit a temple later for puja.

The body of Durga Prasad was shifted to a government hospital for post-mortem. Heartbroken families of the missing students gathered at the site, anxiously awaiting updates.

Senior police and revenue officials, including Deputy Superintendent of Police Deva Kumar and Kovvur Revenue Divisional Officer Rani Susmita, were supervising the ongoing search operations.