Hyderabad: Six teenagers tragically drowned in the Godavari River at Medigadda in Bhupalapally district on Saturday while attempting to take a selfie. Their bodies were recovered on Sunday morning by police with the assistance of expert swimmers who had been deployed since Saturday evening.The incident occurred around 6 pm when a group of youngsters went to bathe in the river and accidentally ventured too far into the deep water. Four of them — Patti Madhusudhan (18), P Shiva Manoj (15), T Rakshith (13), and K Sagar (16) — were from Ambatipally village, while Paddu (18) and Rahul (19) hailed from Korlakunta village."P Venkataswamy, the father of Madhusudhan and Manoj, was watching from the riverbank. He advised them not to go into the water, warning that it might be too deep.

All the boys, who were cousins, were trying to take a selfie while wading in. Unfortunately, they reached a point where the water became very deep and they drowned," said Mahadevpur sub-inspector Pavan, speaking to TOI. None of the boys knew how to swim.According to police, Venkataswamy, who also could not swim, helplessly witnessed the incident from the riverbank. By the time he raised the alarm, it was too late. "A total of seven boys entered the water, but one returned to the bank and managed to escape," the police added.Following the incident, district authorities deployed two boats to aid in the search. Once the bodies were recovered, post-mortem examinations were conducted.