Amaravati, July 13 : Bodies of three devotees, who drowned in the Tungabhadra river at Mantralayam pilgrimage centre in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district, were pulled out on Sunday.

The deceased were identified as Sachin (20), Pramood (20)) and Ajith (19), all belonging to neighbouring Karnataka.

The youth had drowned in the river while taking a bath on Saturday, a few hours before they were scheduled to board a train to return home.

Police, who had launched a search operation with the help of expert divers, pulled out their bodies on Sunday afternoon.

According to police, the trio which were part of a group of devotees, entered the river to take a bath and click photographs.

Sachin accidentally slipped and started drowning. Pramood and Ajith tried to save him, but in the process, all of them were washed away.

The trio's friend Ragunath, who was also drowning while trying to rescue his friends, was saved by locals.

The youth had entered the waters despite warnings issued by the local police and temple authorities in view of the heavy inflows from the Tungabhadra dam over the past few days.

A group of seven devotees from Karnataka had arrived in Mantralayam early Friday to have darshan of Sri Guru Raghavendra Swamy. After taking a bath in the Tungabhadra river in the morning, they had darshan of village deities Manchalamma and Raghavendra Swamy.

The group was to board a train at 11 p.m. on Saturday to return home. After checking out of the hotel where they were staying, they went to the banks of the Tungabhadra river.

According to police, the three devotees were swept away by strong undercurrents. Though the local authorities immediately launched a search operation, the same was hindered by heavy rain in the region. The search operation resumed on Sunday morning.

The deceased were degree students and hailed from Javagallu in Hassan district of Karnataka.

/IANS