4 Holi revellers drown in Hyderabad

Holi celebrations turned tragic for a group of four students who drowned in a quarry at Moula Ali area today, even as two others managed to save themselves, police said.Six boys from East Maredpally went to swim at a quarry in Shafinagar of Moula Ali at around 3.30 pm after Holi celebrations, but none of them knew swimming, Malkajgiri police inspector B Ramesh said.Initially, one of them jumped into the waters but as he started drowning others also entered the water one by one and in the process four of them drowned.The deceased were identified as Sai, Srikant, Vinod and Abhinav (all in the age group of 15-17 and intermediate students) while two others Madhu and Javed somehow managed to save themselves after Javed removed his shirt and dragged Madhu from the water, the police officer said.All the four bodies were retrieved and have been sent for autopsy, he said.At least eight persons, including three girls, had yesterday lost their lives in Karimangar, Nalgonda and Khammam districts of the state as they drowned going for a bath in different water bodies after the Holi festivities.