TIRUPATI:The bodies of seven youngsters were retrieved from the Kapilatheertham temple tank here on Sunday. The victims, all aged around 17, are believed to have been washed away in the flash floods while swimming in the water bodies on the hills which are part of the catchment area of the temple tank and landed in the tank through the water falls.
Five of them were identified as Sreekanth, Tohid, Konadala Nikhil, Sachin and Balaji. Two other bodies are yet to be identified.
According to a survivor, Babajan, who is the brother of Tohid, one Venkatesh, who accompanied them for a swim, has been missing.
“It was around 2.30 pm when Sreekanth, Tohid, Venkatesh and I reached the catchment area through Jeevakona route. Around 4.30 pm someone noticed a torrent of water gushing down and pushed me from behind so I landed at a safe place. But the rest of them were washed away,” said Babajan, a mechanic and a resident of Chandrasekar Reddy Colony of Korlagunta. A search is on for Venkatesh.
“Swimmers have been deployed to search for the bodies in the temple tank,” said TTD Vigilance Security Officer Ravindra Reddy.
“As per the directions of the Chief Minister an ex-gratia of `2 lakh has been released for the families of the deceased,” said TTD EO D Sambasiva Rao. TTD board chairman Chadalawada Krishnamurthy and member Bhanu Prakash Reddy along with Tirupati Urban SP Gopinath Jatti and RDO V Veerabrahmiah visited the spot.