ONGOLE: Two youths drowned and two others went missing after strong waves swept away seven youths who went for a holy dip at Pakala Beach of Prakasam district on Saturday. Local fishermen and Marine Police personnel rescued the remaining three youths, who are undergoing treatment at hospitals.
Prakasam District Collector P Rajababu and Superintendent of Police (SP) V Harshavardhan Raju, visited the spot and gathered details from the affected families and Marine Police personnel. The Collector said around 70 people from Sri Rangapuram village of Markapuram district had visited Pakala beach on Saturday afternoon to take a holy dip after performing traditional Goddess Poleramma Utsavam.
A sudden, strong wave swept seven youths into the sea while they were bathing. Hearing the cries of others, local fishermen and Marine Police personnel rescued five of them.
The authorities identified the deceased as Paladugu Teja Babu, 20, and Battula Mahesh Babu, 22. They identified the missing youths as Devalla Narayana and Devalla Vishnu. The three rescued youths, Manoj Kumar, Mahesh Teja and Narasimha, are undergoing treatment at Ongole GGH, Kandukuru Kota Reddy Hospital and Ongole Ramesh Hospitals. Search is on to trace the missing youths.
