Tragedy in Kadapa: Five Boys Drown in Pond During Summer Vacation
A devastating incident unfolded in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa district, where five young boys drowned in a village pond during a casual summer afternoon swim. The tragedy has left families shattered and the local community in deep mourning.
The incident occurred in Mallepalli village of Brahmamgari Matam mandal, where the boys, aged between 10 and 15, had arrived to spend the holidays with their grandmother. On May 13, around 3 PM, they ventured to the local pond for a swim but never returned. Their absence raised alarm, prompting an anxious search by family members.
Clothes and slippers found near the pond led to suspicions of drowning. Villagers rushed to the scene, and local authorities soon launched a rescue operation. With the help of trained swimmers, the bodies of all five children were retrieved by evening.
Preliminary findings suggest that the pond, though appearing shallow near the banks, had abrupt depth drops of up to 12 feet. The boys, unaware of the danger, likely slipped into the deeper section and struggled to stay afloat. None of them knew how to swim.
The tragedy sparked widespread grief in the area, with several residents calling for better safety measures around rural water bodies. Many expressed concerns over the lack of warning boards, fencing, or supervised access—especially during school holidays when children are most vulnerable.
Local leaders visited the grieving families and offered condolences. Authorities have since issued an advisory urging parents to educate children about the risks of open water and to restrict unsupervised access to ponds, lakes, and canals during vacations.
The heartbreaking loss of five young lives has become a grim reminder of how quickly joy can turn to sorrow when precautionary measures are absent.
