Saturday, 10 October 2026

Two people drown, two go missing at Pakala Beach in Andhra Pradesh

Seven persons of a group of 70 people who had gone to the beach on a jolly trip were washed away by strong waves; three people were rescued and admitted to hospital

The Hindu

7 hours ago · 1 min read★ 4.0 trust

A jolly trip of a group of around 70 persons turned tragic as two of them drowned and another two went missing at Pakala Beach of Prakasam district on Saturday.

“Around 70 persons from Srirangapuram village in Kanigiri mandal came to the beach in three batches in three private vehicles around 2 p.m on Saturday. All of them are masons working in Hyderabad,” Ongole Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) R. Srinivasa Rao told to he Hindu.

They came to their native village for Vinayaka Chavithi celebrations and stayed back to celebrate Kolupulu (Poleramma Jathara) two days ago. They were supposed to go back to work in a few days, he informed.

They came to Pakala Beach for a short trip. While taking a bath, seven of them went deep into the water and were swept away by the strong waves. The other members of the group alerted the police.

The Singarayakonda police rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation with the help of expert swimmers. Three people were rescued. One of them is stable, while another one was admitted to RIMS Hospital and another to Aster Ramesh Hospital in Ongole.

The two deceased have been identified as Paladugu Teja (20) and Battula Mahesh Babu (22), while the missing are Devala Vishnu (17) and Devala Narayana (32). Search efforts were on by using drones and boats till the last report came in.

Prakasam District Collector P. Rajababu and SP V. Harshavardhan Raju inspected the beach. The Collector said that the rescued were receiving advanced medical treatment.

He assured that the district administration would extend all support to the affected families. The Collector urged the beachgoers to exercise caution and adhere to the safety guidelines.

Read the full story at The Hindu.

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