Five engineering students from Andhra Pradesh drowned in the Godavari river in Eluru district on Friday, near Bhadrachalam in Telangana, police said on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Podicheti Abhiram (19), Charugulla Srikar Gupta (21), Daggupati Navadeep (19), Pasam Satish Kumar (19), and Teja Gnana Sai (19), who were part of a group of seven second-year engineering students.
According to police, the group had travelled to Bhadrachalam on Thursday to visit a temple and offer prayers on the occasion of Ugadi.
On Friday morning, the group went to the Kollugudem sand ramp in Veleru village, but finding little water there, they walked nearly 3 km to a deeper stretch of the river.
One student slipped first, and the others were pulled in while trying to rescue him, police said.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the incident and said the government would extend all possible support to the victims' families.
Police have registered a case under Section 194 (unnatural death) under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
