Bodies of 3 missing youth retrieved

Tirupati: Rescue teams on Saturday recovered three bodies of the youths, who washed away in Swarnamukhi river near Vedantapuram village, Tirupati district.

The tragic incident occurredon Friday evening when a group of seven youngsters entered the river for swimming but got swept away by strong currents. Three were rescued by locals, while four others - Prakash, Chinna, Teju and Balu - were pulled away by the current. The body of Balu was recovered on Friday night.

Police, SDRF, and fire department personnel carried out continuous search operations since Friday evening. After 24 hours, with the help of drones, the bodies were found. After conducting post-mortem, the bodies were handed over to their families.

It may be noted here that seven local youths went to the river for swimming to celebrate birthday of one of them, without informing their parents. When one boy started drowning, others tried to save him. Since none knows swimming, all swept away by the river’s strong current. District SP L Subbarayudu and Chandragiri MLA Pulivarti Nani personally supervised the rescue operations at the site. They expressed deep sorrow over the incident and urged parents to be aware of their children’s whereabouts, especially during heavy rains.

The SP cautioned that streams and rivers would be dangerous during rains. Appealing public not to take risks by swimming or playing in flooded areas, he said, as a precaution, the government has already issued alerts due to heavy rains, set up barricades near water bodies and bridges, and increased police patrolling.