Release Date: Release Date – 10:55 AM, Friday – October 28th 22
Kotapalli Deputy Inspector B Venkat said the body of Father Tony Samson (32) was found around 10.30pm in the river near Kollur village in Kotapalli mandal, about 6km from where he was swept away
Manher: The body of one of the two priests who drowned in the Godavari River on 23 October was tracked last night in Errayipet village in Kotapalli mandal. The body of another priest was retrieved on 24 October.
Kotapalli Deputy Inspector B Venkat said the body of Father Tony Samson (32) was found in the river near Kollur village in Kotapalli mandal at around 10.30pm, about 6km from where he was swept away. The body was stuck under the trunk of a tree in the river. He said it was transferred to the Chinnur Government Hospital for an autopsy before being handed over to the victim’s relatives.
Samson belongs to Kerala but is associated with the Chinnur Christian Mission School here. The body of Brother Bijo Palamurakkal (38), of Patanantita, Kerala, was recovered earlier. Samson worked at the mission school for three years.
Although the two priests were not familiar with swimming, they bathed in the river. They were accompanied by Father Anthony by the river and informed the family of the pair and local police about the incident. They reportedly took pictures by the river.
Under the supervision of Chennur Rural Inspector Ch Vidysagar and led by Venkat, four teams of two expert divers from the fisheries department, two police officers, two victims’ families and four locals from Errayipet village carried out the six-day tour search operations. They spend about 12 hours a day scanning the river some 50 kilometers downstream.
Police searched for bodies at night using a motor boat brought from Sironcha in Maharashtra and another boat and special lights in Peddapalli district.
