Three Class 9 students drowned after being swept away by strong waves at Rushikonda beach in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam on Friday, with the bodies of all three recovered later that evening and on Saturday morning, police said.
The incident occurred near IT Park Junction on Bheemili beach road, close to Rushikonda, when the students had gone to the beach along with three other friends during the school holiday on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. “The four boys were reportedly standing in knee-deep water when a huge wave suddenly struck them. On receiving information about the incident, Coast Guard personnel, including a helicopter, Marine Police, Pothinamallayyapalem police, beach lifeguards and local fishermen joined the search operation. Visakhapatnam City Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi reached the scene after being alerted about the incident and personally monitored the rescue and search operations.
The deceased were identified as Pilla Prashanth, Sattaruvu Suryaprakash and Sabbavarapu Ritesh, all around 14 years old and residents of the Madhurawada area. Six boys, residents of Vambay Colony and Pothinamallayyapalem and Class 9 students of a private school in Madhurawada, reached the beach at around 3pm, according to the police.
the bodies of the other two were found on the beach in the early hours of Saturday, an official from Pothinamallayyapalem said While Prashanth’s body was recovered late in the evening. Hemanth managed to reach the shore, but Suryaprakash, Ritesh and Prashanth were dragged into deeper waters by the strong current,” the police said.
