
ONGOLE: Four tourists, including two young women, drowned at Pakala Beach in Singarayakonda mandal of Prakasam district on Thursday evening after being swept away by giant waves.
The group, hailing from Timmapalem Panchayat’s Sivanna Palem village in Ponnaluru mandal, had visited the beach for a holy dip following Sankranti celebrations.
As six members of the group entered the sea, giant waves engulfed them. Local fishermen and marine police managed to rescue two persons, but four others went missing. Hours later, three bodies, including those of N Madhava (26) and N Jessica (15) from Sivanna Palem, and K Yamini (16) from Kollaguntla village in Kandukur mandal, washed ashore.
One person, Thammisetty Pawan (22) from Hanuman Nagar of Singarayakonda, remains missing. Search operations, halted at sunset, are set to resume on Friday morning.
Social Welfare Minister Dr Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, District Superintendent of Police (SP) AR Damodar and district officials rushed to the beach to oversee rescue efforts. The Minister expressed shock over the tragedy and extended condolences to the victims’ families. He assured them of full support from the government and urged the public to exercise caution while visiting tourist spots, particularly beaches.
Later, the Minister, Kandukur MLA Inturi Nageswara Rao, and the SP visited Kandukur Area Hospital, where the bodies were kept. They consoled the grieving families and assured them of government assistance to cope with the loss.
He directed doctors to conduct postmortem to facilitate the timely handover of the bodies for final rites.