Polavaram (Andhra Pradesh), Mar 20 (PTI) Five engineering students drowned in the Godavari river here in Eluru district on Friday, while two others survived, a police official said.
While the bodies of three students were recovered, efforts are underway to trace the remaining two, he added.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to intensify the search operations, officials said.
The engineering students, all from a private university in Amaravati in Guntur district, had entered the river for a bath, police said.
“Five (engineering) students drowned after they ventured into the river for a bath, and two survived. The chief minister has directed officials to intensify search operations,” Polavaram Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) M Venkateswara told PTI.
The DSP said two students managed to escape as they knew how to swim, while the others could not and were caught in deep waters without an opportunity to escape.
He said the students had entered the river assuming it was shallow, and they lacked awareness about the conditions of the river.
Three bodies were recovered, sent for postmortem, and handed over to their parents, the DSP said.
Efforts are ongoing to trace the remaining two bodies, with the help of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams, he said.
Meanwhile, a government press release quoting the CM said, “three students have died while search operations are underway to trace the remaining two students, whose whereabouts are still unknown”.
Naidu condoled the deaths and assured their families that the government would stand by them.
Meanwhile, police have registered a case under section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which deals with unnatural death. PTI MS ADB
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