Village excursion ends in tragedy; six teenagers slip to death in West Godavari
By Newsmeter Network Published on 29 Oct 2020 2:51 AM GMT
Eluru, West Godavari: Celebrations turned into mourning when six teenagers on an excursion drowned in a rivulet at West Godavari agency on Wednesday morning.
The deceased were identified as Gangadhara Venkata Rao, 16, Siramula Sivaji, 16, Koonavarapu Radhakrishna, 15, Gottuparthi Manoj, 16, Karnati Ranjith, 15 and Kella Sai, 16.
All the deceased hail from Bhudevipeta village of Velerupadu Mandal in the West Godavari district.
According to the police, villagers of Bhudevi Peta take part in the garden party after every Dussehra as a part of their tradition.
About 10 families went to Vasanthavada Bridge to celebrate the garden party. After finalizing arrangements, a group of teenagers went to the Pedavagu River for morning chores.
While returning, they misjudged the depth of water and tried to cross the river on foot. Initially, a boy slipped into the deep water. The others tried to rescue their friend holding each other’s hand, but they also were swept away by a strong current.
Police and the fire department rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations. Later they retrieved the bodies from the rivulet with the help of villagers.
West Godavari SP Narayan Nayak also visited the scene of the accident. Velerupadu police are investigating the case. A pall of gloom descended on the village after the incident.
