A 14-year-old girl named Nagavalli lost her life, while five others were feared washed away after an auto-rickshaw fell into a stream in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district. Twelve members of a family were traveling in an auto from Atmakuru to Sangam on the night of Thursday, December 9. When the three-wheeler was passing a bridge across the Beeraperu stream, which flows into the Penna river, at around 9.30 pm, it was hit by a truck coming from the opposite direction and fell off the bridge into the stream.
One of the survivors, Nandu, told the media that he and his family members were on their way to a Shiva temple in Sangam, to complete one of the rituals of his father’s last rites. The family was on their way to a temple for a night halt. Nandu said that while two of them swam to safety, one person had fallen off the auto onto the bridge itself, while four others were rescued after being pulled out with ropes. Fourteen-year-old Nagavalli was among those who was rescued. Her condition was said to be critical at the time, and she later passed away at a hospital.
District Superintendent of Police Vijaya Rao said rescue workers resumed the search for the five missing persons on Friday morning. Personnel from the Coast Guard and expert divers were taking part in the rescue operation. The auto rickshaw was pulled out of the stream with the help of a crane.
Streams and rivers in Nellore district have been in spate since the cyclone in November when the district experienced heavy rain. Those who survived the accident are Nandu, Nagasai, Lakshmi Devi, Krishnakumari, Navadeep, and Nagabhushanam, who was driving the auto. The missing persons are Sampurnamma, Pullayya, Nagaraju, Padma, and Aadhamma.
With IANS inputs