Visakhapatnam, Nov 23 (IANS) Six persons drowned in two separate incidents in north Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

In the first incident, three boys drowned in the Jhanjhavathi rubber dam in Parvathipuram Manyam district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

The accident occurred when the boys were taking a bath in the dam across the Jhanjhavathi River in Komarada mandal. Sharat, Govind Naidu and Pradeep, all belonging to Sivini village in the same district, had gone to the dam along with their relatives.

According to eyewitnesses, one boy was drowning while taking the bath. Two others tried to rescue him but in the process all three were washed away.

On receipt of the information, police rushed to the dam and launched a search with the help of expert swimmers. Meanwhile, in another incident, a person died and two others went missing when a boat overturned in the Raiwada reservoir in Alluri Sitharamaraju district.

The incident occurred in the reservoir near Jinapadu in Anantagiri mandal. Police with the help of expert swimmers recovered a body while search was on for the two others. The deceased was identified as Jeevan of Jinapadu. According to police, the accident occurred when the victims were returning to the bund after sailing in the country-made boat.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister K. Atchenaidu spoke to officials about the incident in the Jhanjhavathi rubber dam. The officials informed him that the boys who drowned in the dam were from Sivini village in Komarada mandal.

The minister directed officials to intensify the search operation. He also asked officials to display cautionary boards at the dam to warn people from entering the waters. Atchenaidu said the measure was necessary to avert such tragedies in the future.

On the previous Sunday (November 16), five people had drowned in three separate incidents in Andhra Pradesh. Two children, aged 8 and 9 years, drowned while playing in a tank at Pandhigunta in Srikakulam district. In another incident, a 16-year-old student drowned in a tank at Rushikudda in the same district.

In Tirupati, two men lost their lives while swimming in an irrigation project.

–IANS

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