5 students, teacher of Veda Pathashala drown in Guntur

Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Dec 10: Five students and a teacher of a Veda Pathashala (traditional Vedic school) were drowned in Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district on Friday, police said. The incident occurred in the evening near Madipadu village of Acchampet mandal when the students had gone to the river for swimming.

Informed by the locals, police rushed the spot and with the help of expert swimmers, retrieved the bodies.

Four students were from Uttar Pradesh while the fifth one hailed from Madhya Pradesh. The teacher was from Andhra Pradesh.

The deceased were identified Shiva Sharma (14) of Madhya Pradesh, Nitish Kumar Dixit (15), Harshit Shukla (15), Shubam Trivedi (17) and Anushanam Shukla (14), all from Uttar Pradesh and K. Subrahmanyam (24), a teacher who was from Narasaraopet town of Guntur.

Local people said a storm in the river led to the tragedy. Police registered a case and took up further investigation.

Meanwhile, Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan has expressed his shock and grief over the tragedy. Conveying his condolences to the families of the deceased, he suggested that the management of educational institutions take all precautions for the safety of children.