Five Hyderabad youths, including three siblings, drown in Godavari at Basar

Five young devotees from Hyderabad drowned in the Godavari River while taking a holy dip at Basar on Sunday. The victims, aged 17 to 24, were part of a pilgrimage group and were unfamiliar with swimming in the river’s deeper sections.

Nirmal: Five young devotees from Hyderabad, including three siblings, drowned in the Godavari river while taking a holy dip at the temple town of Basar on Sunday. All five bodies were recovered by rescue teams.

According to police, the victims were identified as siblings Rakesh (20), Madan (18), and Bharath (16), their cousin Vinod (19), and neighbour Rithik (22) — all from Chintal Bazaar, Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad. Rakesh was a degree student, Madan had completed Intermediate, and Bharath had recently passed SSC. Vinod and Rithik were engaged in business.

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The group of 20 family members from three households had travelled to Basar to visit the ancient Sri Gnana Saraswathi Devasthanam. Tragedy struck when five of them ventured into a deep section of the river to bathe.

Police said the victims were not familiar with swimming but attempted to bathe in deeper waters for fun. “The youngsters reached a seasonal sand island by boat and then tried to swim in one of the deepest parts of the river. As they were unable to swim, they drowned while their families watched helplessly from the riverbank,” said a police official.

On being alerted, police rushed to the spot, deployed expert divers, and retrieved all five bodies. Rathod Sony, the mother of the three siblings, lodged a complaint, based on which a case has been registered. An investigation is underway.