ANNIVERSARY TRIP TO U.S. TURNS TRAGIC

A trip that was meant to be fun for a young couple turned out to be a fatal one.

Twenty-six-year-old Allu Dinesh, who went to the United States to celebrate his first marriage anniversary with wife Pranusha, was killed in a rafting accident. The incident took place when their rafting boat capsized in the Arkansas river near Canon City.

Ironically, Dinesh, his wife and 10 of their friends, chose to go to rafting as their flight from Denver to New York was delayed by three hours. They made a sudden change in their plan after they received a message about the flight delay while on their way to the airport. All 12 friends decided to go rafting in the Arkansas river.

The boat carrying Dinesh, Pranusha and two others capsized after a while. Two people who were accompanying them helped save three people but they could not find Dinesh immediately. It took almost two hours to locate him; by that time, he was dead. Dinesh’s leg had gotten stuck between two rocks, which did not allow him to swim to safety.

Water currents in the river are strong and it is believed that the raft may have it a rock.

The couple went to the US on April 13 to celebrate their anniversary, which falls on April 21. Since then, they were touring the country as many of their relatives and friends live there.

Dinesh was the nephew of Kanigiri MLA Kadiri Baburao. The son and daughter of Mr. Baburao live in the US and were with Dinesh and Prasuna when the incident took place.

His father, Allu Srinivasarao, has a diamond jewellery business. Dinesh, who did his B.Tech, stepped into his father’s shoes and opened his own showrooms in Vijayawada and Hyderabad.

Mr Srinivasa Rao said the family was devastated. “He was doing so well for the last one year. We never expected he would meet his destiny in this way,” he said.