A summer vacation outing turned fatal for three minor girls in Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitharama Raju district, as they drowned in a waterfall while trying to take a selfie.
According to police, the incident took place near Mulagomi village in Ananthagiri district on Thursday. The girls, all from the same village, went together to visit the waterfall, a place that often attracts locals during the holiday season, news agency PTI reported. What started as a fun visit quickly turned into tragedy when the group took to the water to take photos.
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Officials said four girls were present at the time. While trying to take photos in the water, three of them reportedly lost their feet and slipped into a deeper depth. None of the three could swim, making it impossible for them to survive once they fell. Although there was a fourth girl, she was unable to save them. The report stated that she survived the accident and is currently undergoing treatment.
The waterfall, although not very large, can be deceptively dangerous, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the terrain or do not have swimming skills, police said. Slippery rocks and a sudden drop in water depth often increase the danger to visitors.
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The girls’ identities and ages remain unclear at this time. The four ventured out because schools were closed during the summer, a time when these locations tend to see more footfall from young people. The authorities have begun legal procedures and are registering the case.
This comes after an eerily similar incident from the same state a few days ago: three young men drowned in the Pennar River in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday evening while shooting a short film. The victims were part of an eight-member team who gathered at Pushpagiri village for the shoot under the banner “Frontline Press”. While some members stayed behind, five of them headed toward the river, where three of them reportedly entered the water, unaware of its depth, and were swept into a deeper area.
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Police launched a search operation after being alerted, and recovered two bodies late Sunday night and the third on Monday morning. They registered a case of accidental death and sent the bodies for autopsy.
(With inputs from PTI)
