3 school students drown in Nagavali river in Andhra Pradesh

Srikakulam: Three school students, including two brothers drowned while taking bath in the Nagavali river in Srikakulam, police said on Saturday. The deceased have been identified as Hemachandra, B Lokesh, both are 9th standard student, and B Rajesh, an 8th standard student, police said adding Lokesh and Rajesh are brothers.

The incident occurred on Friday when the trio, along with two others, went to the bank of Nagavali river after school hours to play, they said. After playing there till dusk, they all went into the river to take a bath, following which the victims disappeared, they said.

Upon hearing the other two students' cries for help, a woman rushed to the spot and informed some teachers of a nearby school, they said. The teachers immediately alerted police and fire brigade officials, who reached the site and searched for the victims with the help of divers, they said.

The bodies of the three students were fished out later in the night, police said. Superintendent of Police A S Khan gave the necessary directions for the rescue operations. The District Fire Officer M Srinivas Reddy and the Revenue Divisional Officer B Dayanidhi were also present until the bodies were sent for post-mortem to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences here.

Srikakulam MLA Gunda Lakshmi Devi visited the spot and condoled the deaths, they said. The local residents alleged lack of vigil on part of the district administration to avert such incidents.

PTI