Two Ayyappa devotees drowned in a tank while trying to pluck lotus flowers, at Elamanchili in Visakhapatnam district on Monday morning.
The deceased have been identified as Lalam Naresh (21) and Pyala Ganesh (27). According to sources, three Ayyappa devotees from Bhogapuram village in Atchutapuram Mandal came to Elamanchili to perform Ayyapa puja on Monday.
Ganesh and Naresh entered into the water to pluck lotus flowers for the puja. They reportedly slipped and drowned. Alerted by the third devotee, identified as Satyam, the local residents tried to rescue Ganesh and Naresh, but their efforts proved futile.
Bodies retrieved
A police team led by sub-inspector N Karthik, with the help of the local residents, fished out the bodies from the water later. The bodies have been sent to a hospital for post-mortem. The police have registered a case under Section 174 of CrPC.
