The bodies of five of the six students of Gitam University who drowned at sea at Rushikonda beach on Wednesday were retrieved on Thursday. The police handed over four of the bodies to their families after conducting post-mortem. The search for the other victim, P Sai Nitin, was called off late in the night. It will resume on Friday.
During the dawn-to-dusk search operation on Thursday, the Navy and the Coast Guard, in coordination with the marine police, deployed two helicopters, two boats and eight swimmers. Around 9 am, a body was found floating in the sea. It was identified as that of B Sushil Babu. The police sent it to King George Hospital for post-mortem. Later in the afternoon, the bodies of R Anusha, G Preethi Reddy and P Sindhuja were found. Late in the evening, the body of E Anurag Reddy was washed ashore by the high tide.
Meanwhile, police commissioner J Purnachandra Rao visited the beach and asked the managements of educational institutions and beach resorts to set up more warning signboards on the beaches. He suggested that Gitam University construct a memorial for the six victims and organise an awareness programme for students every year to mark their death anniversary.
University board member BSSN Raju said Gitam has been taking all measures for the safety of students. “Considering the present situation, we plan to step up security on the campus. The university will consider the suggestion of the police commissioner,” he said.