Navy divers on Monday retrieved the bodies of five students from the water at Thimmapuram about five km from the spot where they had gone for a swim 24 hours earlier.
According to Naval officials, eleven students studying Intermediate final year had gone to Rushikonda beach to celebrate Friendship Day on Sunday.
The students had played cricket and then went into the waters to swim when they were caught in the strong current.Some fishermen managed to rescue six students while the five unfortunate ones were swept away.
The fishermen alerted the Naval officials who began the 24 hour long hunt to trace the missing students. They were identified as G Appa Rao, Banerjee Jyothi Das, K Kishore, MB Madina Valli and N Ganesh.
According to reports, nearly 35 people die every year at Rushikonda and RK Beach, where thousands of people visit during weekends.