A 45-year-old man and his 14-year-old girl from Sainagar in Anantapur city drowned in Pandameru stream in Rapthadu village, about 10 km from their house, during the immersion of a Ganesh idol on Wednesday evening.
Rapthadu police SDI B. Raghava Reddy said that six persons from Sainagar went to the Pandameru stream for the idol immersion and four of them were swept away in the strong current of water.
Jayasri and her paternal uncle Sriramulu dorwined while Naresh (38) and Eswar (6) were rescued by Rapthadu ASI Sriram Naik and the local residents.
Police said even as Sriramulu knew swimming, Jayasri, in her anxiety, caught hold of his neck and both drowned. The police and fire services personnel searched for them.
The body of Sriramulu was traced late on Wednesday night, while the search team found Jayasri’s body on Thursday evening.
Superintendent of Police Fakkeerappa Kaginelli has appealed to the people not to venture to undesignated locations for idol immersion, adding that the Gooty canal was the designated place for the nimajjanam.
