3 boys drown during Gandhi Jayanti outing at Vizag beach

Three teenagers drowned after venturing into the sea during a trip to Visakhapatnam’s Rushikonda beach on Gandhi Jayanti, police said, adding that one body was recovered on Friday evening and the other two washed ashore early on Saturday.

The deceased were identified as Pilla Prashanth, Sattaruvu Suryaprakash and Sabbavarapu Ritesh, all aged around 14 years. Police said Prashanth’s body was the first to be recovered.

The incident occurred near the IT Park Junction on the Bheemili beach road. Police said six boys studying together at a private school at Madhurawada reached the beach at around 3pm on Friday. Four of them, including the three victims and another student Sattaruvu Hemanth entered the sea while two others – Prasagada Hemanth Kumar and Anamakonda Nagesh— remained on shore.

“The four boys were reportedly standing in knee-deep water when a huge wave suddenly struck them. Hemanth managed to reach the shore, but Suryaprakash, Ritesh and Prashanth were dragged into deeper waters by the strong current,” an officer said.

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, said police.