VISAKHAPATNAM: Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and marine police, along with family members of the Yarada beach mishap victims, continued their search at beach surroundings to trace the sixth victim Rajesh who went missing along with five others on Sunday. As the whereabouts of Rajesh were not traced up to 5 pm and as daylight faded, search operation was stopped for the day.
So far, the bodies of five youths - K Durga Rao, N Ganesh, D Vaasu, P Tirupathi and K Srinivasa Rao - were retrieved and search operation will be continued on Thursday. Meanwhile, Navy rescue team and chopper services were withdrawn from search operation as five out of six missing youths were traced. However, the marine police, along with the Coast Guard vessel Atulya are continuing the job.
“As the sea is rough due to the cyclone Gaja impact, high tides hindered search operation. So far, we found five bodies out of six youths and search will be continued until the last youth is traced,” G Somasekhar Rao, Inspector of New Port Police Station, told TNIE on Wednesday.
Angered by the slowing down of search activities, relatives and friends of the ntraced victim gathered in large numbers at MVP Colony and tried to stage a dharna in front of HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao’s residence. Agitators raised slogans against the government and demanded immediate announcement of relief measures for the victim families and speed up the search operation in the Yarada surroundings.
They also demanded support to the bereaved families such as employment and house. As the agitators tried to barge into the Minister’s residence, the police entered the scene and appealed to them to be patient and maintain peace. At this moment, a heated argument ensued between the police and the agitators, giving rise to tension in the area. However, the police managed the mob and brought the situation under control. Later, the minister assured the agitators of all help.