Three boys, including an Intermediate student and two SSC students, were feared drowned in Pranahita river at Alugaon village in Kotapalli mandal on Monday afternoon.
The missing boys were identified as A Vamshi, 18, A Sai, 15, and G Rakesh, 15, of Alugaon village, police said.
The trio along with three others had gone to the riverfront to celebrate the holiday at the scenic spot.
Four of them ventured into the river for a swim and three of them were swept away by the strong undercurrent and one boy was rescued by a local fisherman, sources added.
Alerted by the local youths, the Kotapalli police rushed to the riverfront and launched a search operation by deploying swimmers.
However, the trio remained untraceable till late in the evening when the search operation was halted due to darkness.
Sources said the search operation will be resumed early on Tuesday morning.
Gloom engulfed the families of the three missing boys, who hails from same village, following the tragic incident.
