The death toll in the drowning incident at Seethapalem beach in Anakapalli district increased to six on Saturday with the police tracing the bodies of five more B.Tech students who had gone missing in the sea.
The body of one student had been traced after the incident on Friday.
About 12 students from a private engineering college in Anakapalli had gone to the beach located in Rambilli mandal under Atchutapuram police station limits on Friday afternoon.
At around 3 p.m., 11 of them had ventured into the sea. While seven among them were pulled into the waters by strong waves, four managed to reach the shore. One student, S. Teja, was rescued by the locals. The body of G. Pavan Kumar was traced after some time. The remaining five students remained untraced.
Meanwhile, Teja was rushed to private hospital, where he was still undergoing treatment.
The students who had reached the shore dialed ‘100’ and informed the police about the incident. The police immediately rushed to the spot and took up rescue operation.
On Saturday morning, helicopters from the Eastern Naval Command, patrolling ships from the Marine Police, about five boats sent by the Fisheries Department, and the local fishermen took part in the rescue operation.
While the bodies of Ganesh and Jagadeesh were traced by the naval personnel in the morning, three other bodies were traced by afternoon and sent to NTR Hospital, Anakapalli, for a post mortem examination. The bodies were later handed over to their parents.
The family members of the students who reached the beach in the morning were inconsolable. A few parents were crestfallen on seeing the footwear of their beloved ones on the beach.
‘Not a tourist spot’
Meanwhile, during their preliminary investigation, the police found that the students had completed their semester examination at around 12.30 p.m. and started for the beach on four two-wheelers. They included hostellers and day scholars.
The beach is located about 25 km from their college and does not have proper access road. One has to drive a two-wheeler for about two km, carefully negotiating the terrain, as there is no road leading to the beach.
The police say that not many people visit the beach due to lack of road connectivity. Only fishermen are generally seen over there.
Joint Collector Kalpana Kumari said as the beach was generally not frequented by the tourists, there were no caution boards or guards. She said the government would take measures to ensure that such incidents did not happen again.
She said they would identify the beaches that were safe and unsafe, and take necessary measures.
Minister’s promise
Meanwhile, IT Minister Gudivada Amarnath said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had expressed grief over the incident.
He said the government would extend support to the next of kin of the deceased students.
When asked about the possibility of offering ex gratia to the next of kin of the victims, the Minister said he would discuss about it with the Chief Minister.
He appealed to the youth not to visit the beaches that were unsafe.
