Three youths drown in Godavari near Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage

Rajahmundry: Three persons drowned in the Godavari River at the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage in Bobbarlanka village of Athreyapuram mandal in Konaseema district on Friday. The incident occurred when four youths from Rajahmundry entered the river to take a bath to get relief from the soaring summer heat. According to police, the four ventured into the river near the barrage, during which three of them were swept away, while one managed to swim to safety. The body of SK Biala (29), who runs a biryani hotel, was retrieved. Search operations are underway to recover the bodies of Sk Sultani Ahmad (22), who had recently completed his BTech, and Mohammad Arfat (19), who had recently completed Intermediate. Mosali Manikanta, a final-year BTech student, survived the incident. Athreyapuram police have registered a case and are investigating.