Telangana duo drowns in US lake

WARANGAL: A 24-year-old native of Subedari in Hanamkonda and his friend from Ranga Reddy district drowned in the Ozarks lake in Missouri state of the United States on Saturday.

The deceased were identified as Kuntha Uttej, who was pursuing his Master’s degree in Health Science Data at St Louis University, and Shiva Datta, 25, his flatmate.

According to the information made available, Uttej had gone to the lake that is in the vicinity of their residence. He entered the water and, as he did not know swimming, started struggling.

Shiva, noticing Uttej struggling, jumped in after him to rescue him. Hearing their cries for help, the houseowner called the emergency helpline but the duo drowned before help could arrive.

The rescue team recovered Uttej’s body after a two-hour rescue operation while a special dive team recovered Shiva’s body the next day.

Uttej’s parents, Janardhan and Jhansi Laxmi, were in a state of shock upon receiving information about the incident.

IT minister K.T. Rama Rao issued orders to officials of departments concerned, on Twitter, to make arrangements and expedite the transport of the mortal remains of the youth to their homes.