Five tribal villagers, including three women, drowned in the Godavari river in Polavaram district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday morning while they were going fishing, police said.
The accident took place near Gulagudem village in Yettabaka mandal (block). The deceased have been identified as OK Sushila (37), OK Lakshmi (37), Turam Bharati (40), Pasuboyena Balaraju (38) and OK Ramesh (38), all residents of Gomu Kottagudem village.
According to preliminary investigation, a group of five tribal villagers went to the Godavari river early in the morning for fishing, expecting a good catch of fish due to the increasing flow of flood waters downstream from Bhadrachalam, an officer from Yettabaka police station said.
They were using hand-held fishing nets when they accidentally entered a deep area of the river. “Due to the rising waters of the river, they were unable to get out, and all five of them drowned,” the officer said.
The Utabaca Fire Department and Police rushed to the scene. Local residents also joined the rescue efforts, using their boats to assist in the search. Police said the bodies of the five victims were recovered from the river this afternoon.
The bodies were taken to the government hospital in Chantur for autopsy. The police recorded a case of accidental death and opened an investigation to determine the circumstances that led to this tragedy.
