VIJAYAWADA: Six boys aged between 15 and 16, met a watery grave in Pedavagu at Vasanthavada in Velerupadu Mandal of West Godavari district on Wednesday. Velerupadu Sub-Inspector T Sudheer said the boys went to Pedavagu for Vana Bhojanam as part of Dasara festivities. One of them entered the stream, which got filled with water due to the recent heavy rains, unaware of its depth. When he started drowning, one after the other entered the stream to rescue their friends and all of them met a watery grave, the SI said.
The police with the help of expert swimmers fished out the bodies from the stream after nearly two hours search. The deceased were identified as K Babji, S Shivaji, G Venkat Rao, K Radhakrishna, K Ranjit and Ch Bhuvan of Bhudevipeta. Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan expressed deep sorrow and sadness at the death of six students. “The unfortunate incident occurred when several families of Bhudevipeta went to the place for a religious get together,’’ he said, and offered his heartfelt condolences to bereaved families.
Deputy Chief Minister (Health) Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas condoled the death of six boys and offered all possible support from the government to the bereaved families. Alla Nani spoke to West Godavari District Collector R Muthyala Raju and SP Narayana Nayak and enquired about the tragic incident. He also spoke to Polavaram MLA T Balaraju and asked him to extend all help to the bereaved families. He instructed the officials to take measures to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future.