Southern States
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Andhra Pradesh
Five students drowned in Godavari
By Our Staff Reporter
BHADRACHALAM, DEC. 6. Tragedy struck an excursion team as five students were drowned in the Godavari, near the temple town, on Thursday. Rescue efforts made by onlookers helped save two others. Divers engaged in search of the students fished out one body.
In all, 67 students of the Layola Model School of Ibrahimpatnam in Rangareddy district reached the temple town in a bus at 6 am in the last leg of their five-day excursion. Led by their Principal, Mr. Deenavan Rao, and two other teachers, they thronged the bathing ghat to have a bath before visiting the temple. When the students were about to return, a tenth standard boy, N. Sridhar Reddy, slipped accidentally into the river.
As he screamed for help six other students, all of his age group, tried to help him out from the 20-feet-deep water. In the effort four other students were also washed away. A washerman jumped into the river and helped two boys- Vinod and Praveen-swim ashore. He gave up his effort as he could not trace the other students.
The bodies of four students still missing are feared to have got trapped in the wild river grass and rock formations. The police reached the place immediately and engaged a group of divers in search of the missing students - N. Sridhar Reddy, 14, Jitta Ravinder, 14, Kommu Anand, 15 and Pavan, 14. The only body retrieved was identified as that of I.Janardhan, a tenth standard student. The Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Sampath Kumar Reddy, visited the place and sent the body for post-mortem. Other students who were stranded on the river bank were sent to Ibrahimpatnam on Thursday evening.
Parents of the drowned students were informed about the mishap by the police. The students started on the excursion trip from Ibrahimpatnam on December 1.
They visited Vijayawada, Dwaraka Tirumala, Draksharamam, Annavaram and Aaraku. They were expected to be back at Ibrahimpatnam by evening.
Drowning cases near the bathing ghat in Bhadrachalam are on the increase. A local boy who slipped into the river while taking bath died two days ago.
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