Four persons, including three children, drowned in the Krishna river and six others were rescued when the boat in which they were travelling capsized, near Konuru village in Palnadu district on Sunday.

The deceased were identified as Battula Karthik (12), Konatha Chaitanya (26), Gandham Saini (10) and Gandham Sandhya (8). They were native of Marrichettupalem and Chilakaluripet areas.

They had come to Konuru to attend a function at the house of K. Gangaiah and went on a boat ride after the function. “Local residents jumped into the water, rescued six persons, and brought them to the bund,” said Ramana, a villager. There were no lifebuoy jackets or other safety material in the boat, the villagers said.

CM orders probe

Meanwhile, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who was away in Singapore, expressed grief over the loss of lives in the boat tragedy and announced an ex gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. He also directed the District Collector to disburse the amount immediately, and ordered a full-fledged investigation by a team of Revenue, Police, and Water Resources departments.

The officials informed the Chief Minister that the boat capsized at around 2 p.m. after hitting a sandbar in the river.

YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock over the accident and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families. He appealed to the government to extend all help to the victims’ families.