VIJAYAWADA: Weekend trip of five IIIT students to Manginapudi beach near Machilipatnam turned tragic as one of them drowned on Sunday. The deceased student was identified as Thokala Akhil from Mopadu village in Kandukur mandal, Nellore district. He was studying electronics engineering at Srikakulam-IIIT, operating from Nuzvid-IIIT campus.
Marine Police SI Subhash Chandra Bose said the incident took place around 8 am. Akhil and four of his classmates ventured into the sea for a swim, when a strong wave swept them away. The Marine Police heard the youngsters’ plea for help and rescued four of them with the help of local fishermen. However, they could not trace Akhil. The remaining four students were immediately taken to a nearby medical camp for first aid.
After searching for over five hours, body of the 22-year-old was found one kilometre away from the place of the incident, Bose said. Machilipatnam rural police registered a case of accidental death under Section 174 of CrPC. Akhil’s body was handed over to his family after post-mortem.
On the measures being taken to prevent untoward incidents at the beach, Bose explained that barricades have been placed to restrict people from entering water beyond permissible distance and people are not allowed from entering the beach during bad weather.