As many as six men are feared to have drowned as the four-wheeler in which they were travelling plunged into the left canal of the Nagarjuna Sagar irrigation project near Munagala of Nadigudem village in Suryapet district of Telangana.
The incident happened as the speeding SUV allegedly rammed into the railing of the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway (NH 65) and fell off the road into the canal around 10 pm.
The six men were said to be returning from the wedding of their colleague in Nadigudem. All of them have been identified as the staff of a private hospital in Hyderabad.
The guests from the wedding were traveling in two vehicles, one with five members and another with six. It was the second vehicle which hit the railing and overturned before plunging into the canal.
The passengers have been identified as Abdul Aziz (45), Rajesh (29), Jhonson (33), Santosh Kumar (23), Naresh (35) and Pavan Kumar (23).
According to an eyewitness, a colleague of the drowned men who was travelling in the other car, the SUV floated along for a while after falling into the canal and then sank and disappeared.
The Munagala police have said that they've been unable to locate the drowned car or the passengers since the canal is in heavy flow. State disaster management forces have been roped in for rescue operations along with the local police.
District Collector Ameya Kumar and District SP R Bhaskaran are overseeing the rescue operations. Local MLA Bollem Mallaiah Yadav has also rushed to the spot on being informed about the accident.