Three men drowned in the Pennar River while shooting a short film in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa district on Sunday evening, police said on Monday.
The victims were identified as Haribabu (25), Harshavardhan (22) and Krishna Chaitanya (20). According to the police, while the two were recovered late on Sunday night, Krishna’s body was recovered on Monday morning. “We have registered a case of accidental death and sent the bodies to the local government hospital for autopsy,” said Sivanaji Reddy, assistant inspector of police, Valur.
Reddy said a group of eight youths from Kadapa, Annamaya and Chittoor districts formed a team under the banner ‘Frontline Press’ and participated in producing short films in Pushpagiri village. The group had arrived in the village for filming on Sunday morning.
“While three individuals remained in the village, the rest headed to the river. Two of them stayed at a safe distance, but the other three, Haribabu, Harshavardhan and Krishna Chaitanya, entered the water. Unaware of the depth in the river bed, they reportedly ventured into a deep area and drowned,” the sub-inspector said.
After receiving information from those at the scene of the accident, the police launched a search operation with the help of expert swimmers. The bodies of Haribabu and Harshavardhan were recovered, while the search for Krishna Chaitanya was halted due to darkness. He added that the third body was recovered on Monday morning.
According to preliminary investigations, Haribabu, a resident of Viswanathapuram in Kadapa, was working as a temporary employee at the Homeopathic College. Harshavardhan, also from Kadapa, was a fourth-year engineering student at KSRM College, while Krishna Chaitanya was also a second-year IT student in the same college.
Other members of the group include Suresh from Madanapalle in Annamiya district, Sai Manoj from Kuppam in Chittoor district, Bhagavan, Firoz and Ashraf from different parts of Kadapa district. Police said the group met on Instagram and collaborated on producing short films.
“The stretch of river near Pushpagiri is very dangerous due to strong undercurrents and eddies. We have put up several warning boards and warn visitors regularly. Despite this, many youngsters enter the river without knowing how to swim and get trapped by the eddies,” Reddy said.
