Kakinada: Four College Students Drown in Gautami-Godavari River

Thallarevu (Kakinada) : On the eve of Dussehra, four students, who went for swimming, drowned in Gautami-Godavari river in Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh, the police said. 

The incident occurred near Gopulanka hamlet in Thallarevu mandal on Saturday. Their bodies were fished out with the help of expert swimmers on Sunday. 

According to police, seven students entered into the waters of Godavari river on Saturday evening and four drowned while swimming in the river. The police added that the strong current swept the fourth youth away which resulted in their drowning. 

The deceased students belonging to Tanuku town in the West Godavari district were on a pleasure trip. One of the deceased identified as Hanumakonda Karthik had recently celebrated his birthday and wanted to treat his friends Pendyala Balaji, Tirumala Ravi Teja, Muddana Phanindra Ganesh, Neduri Bhanu Prasad, Saladi Durga Mahesh and Kommireddy Chaitanya. 

The college students in their early 20s had arrived in Yanam from Tanuku on their motorbikes. They celebrated Karthik’s birthday there and then left for Ravulapalem. On their way, they stopped by Gopulanka pushkar ghat and decided to swim in Gautami-Godavari river, five kilometres away from Yanam. The birthday boy Karthik drowned after wading too deep into the water. Seeing their friend being swept away by the strong current, Balaji, Ravi Teja and Ganesh tried to rescue him but they were also drowned in the river water. 

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