ONGOLE: In a tragic incident, three youngsters drown in the Nagarjuna Sagar-Darsi Branch Canal waters near Kothareddi Palem village, in Darsi mandal of Prakasam district on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Pothireddi Lokesh Reddy (19) from Kothapallu village, Kunduru Chandra Kirankumar Reddy (17) from Lakshminarayana Puram, and Bathula Manikantha Reddy (18) from Korlamadugu village were best friends.
Lokesh and Kirankumar were studying in the second year Intermediate at separate private colleges in Darsi town limits, while Manikantha was studying in the second year of polytechnic in Nuzividu. On Saturday, the trio came to the canal near Kothareddipalem for a joy swim in the canal waters. However, they drowned and were swept away. Nearby villagers noticed the incident and informed the police, who started a rescue operation.
The police, along with family members and villagers, rushed to the site and initiated a search operation. By Saturday night, Lokesh Reddy’s body was found near the accident spot. The police, local expert swimmers, and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team continued the search operation in the canal. By Sunday afternoon, they found Manikantha’s body, and a few hours later, they recovered the body of Kirankumar.
Darsi MLA Dr Buchepalli Siva Prasad Reddy, TDP in-charge Dr Gottipati Lakshmi, and officials consoled the bereaved families. “Although the police initiate safety measures at all water resources, tragedies like this happen due to the negligent attitude, which is very unfortunate. We request the people to be cautious about their safety,” he said.