Copters, Navy join AP search for missing girl

Visakhapatnam: Two helicopters and Twelve Indian Navy personnel joined the search for six-year-old C. Athidhi who was washed away in a storm water drain on Thursday evening. Over 500 personnel from the police, fire service and GVMC apart from fishermen are searching for the girl.

Athidhi was not found at Lawson’s beach, Appughar, Rushikonda and RK Beach and search teams including the Navy divers combed the 3-km stretch from HB Colony to MVP Colony, said GVMC commissioner Pravin Kumar. Fishermen and fire service personnel searched the coastal area in four mechanised boats but drew a blank.

On the request of the district administration, the Navy deployed two helicopters to search the sea close to Lawson’s beach and two ships to look for any signs of the girl in the deep sea.

Athidhi’s father C. Srinivas, a software engineer in Bengaluru, and his wife Radhika visited the beach area and enquired with the commissioner on the search operations. Mr Srinivas said he informed his wife of the incident only on Saturday morning. Athidhi stays with her grandfather.

The GVMC continued to draw flak from civil society, the legal fraternity and among students. The police said the search will continue on Sunday.