NIZAMABAD: Three youths drowned and another went missing in the Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP) Laxmi Canal pump house area in the SRSP backwaters on Sunday evening after an attempt to rescue a friend ended in tragedy.
Police recovered the bodies of Khalim (24), Najwat (24), and Azeem (24), all residents of Auto Nagar in Nizamabad. Search operations for Arhan (17), a native of Bokaro, Jharkhand, were suspended after nightfall and are scheduled to resume on Monday morning.
According to police, the four youths had visited the SRSP area for sightseeing and reached the pump house around 4.30 pm.
Rehan reportedly slipped into the deep waters and began drowning. In an attempt to save him, the other three entered the canal one after another. As none of them knew how to swim, all four were swept away.
Personnel from the Armoor Rural Police, led by Circle Inspector Janreddy, along with sub-inspectors from Mendora and Mupkal police stations, rushed to the spot. Local fishermen, NDRF personnel and Fire department staff joined the rescue operation.
The bodies of Khalim, Najwat and Azeem were recovered, but the search for Arhan was halted due to darkness. The bodies were shifted to the Government Area Hospital in Armoor for post-mortem examination.
Nizamabad Police Commissioner P Sai Chaitanya and Armoor ACP J Venkateshwar Reddy visited the spot and supervised the search operation.