Boys aged 10 to 15 drowned in Mallepally pond while playing; their bodies were recovered late at night.
Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh), May 14 — In a heartbreaking incident, five young boys drowned in a pond in Mallepally village of Brahmamgari Matham mandal, Kadapa district, on Tuesday afternoon while playing in the water during their summer holidays.According to Mydukuru sub-divisional police officer Rajendra Prasad, the incident occurred around 3 pm when the boys, aged between 10 and 15 and closely related, entered the pond to play. Initially, the water was only waist-deep up to nearly 200 metres from the shore. However, the pond suddenly dropped to 12 to 13 feet.
“They were unaware of the sudden depth and found it difficult to swim once they reached the deeper section,” Prasad explained.
As hours passed without seeing the children, family members grew concerned and began a frantic search. When they reached the pond, they discovered the boys' clothes abandoned near the water, but found no trace of them. A search was immediately launched, and the bodies were eventually recovered around 11 pm the same night.
The boys had reportedly come to visit their maternal grandmother for the summer holidays, turning what should have been a joyful vacation into an unimaginable tragedy.
Police have registered a case, and the post-mortem examinations are expected to be completed on Wednesday.
