The authorities of the Dominican Republic are looking for air, by air and in the ocean for a 20 -year -old student from the University of Pittsburgh who disappeared last week on spring holidays in Punta Cana.
Sudiksha Konanki was last seen in a surveillance chamber with seven other people entering the beach at the Riu Republic hotel in Punta Cana around 4:15 am on Thursday, according to a statement from the Dominican National Police.
Konanki, resident of the Loudoun County of Virginia, had arrived in the Dominican Republic on Monday, March 3 with five other students from the University of Pittsburgh. The police learned of his disappearance after 8 in the morning on Friday through a call from the United States Embassy in Santo Domingo.
Around 5:55 am on Thursday, the surveillance chamber captured five women and a man who left the beach. It is believed that Konanki stayed with a young man, according to a local police source Talking to CNN.
The surveillance video also shows the man who leaves the beach area at 9:55 am without Konanki signs, the source told The Outlet.
ABC News informs that Konanki is believed to have He died from drowning. According to a police report, cited by ABC News, the police said that Konanki and the man he was caught by a great wave when they went to swim.
The authorities have interviewed the man to discover details about what happened when the two were alone. Dominican police are also expanding their investigation to corroborate the history of man and question people who were last seen with Konanki on Thursday.
“Until now, the authorities, multiple authorities here in the Dominican Republic have sought in the waters. They searched using helicopters and other tools. They also searched for the nearby bay, bushes, trees. They were several times around the same areas, ”said Konaki's father, Subbarayudu, to CNN.
“My daughter is a very nice girl,” he added. “She is ambitious. She wanted to follow a career in medicine. “
According to Konanki's father, she had told her friends on Wednesday that she headed for a party at the resort.
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“She went to the beach on March 6, early in the morning around 4 in the morning with friends and other types they met at the resort,” he said. “After that, his friends returned after a while and my daughter did not return, she didn't appear from the beach.”
Konaki's father wants local authorities to “also investigate other possibilities, even if it is a case of kidnapping or human trafficking.”
“We do not believe that she can survive for more than three days in the water and I think something else could have happened to her,” he added.
The Civil Defense of Altagracia, the emergency operations agency of the local Dominican Republic, said the search for Konanki began on Friday.
According to NBC NewsThe National Police said that an “thorough search has been initiated by the sea, the air and the earth” using drones, helicopters, divers, ships and canine units.
“Several brigades by the sea and the earth have been deployed to find the whereabouts from abroad.” The agency said in a statement.
The authorities resumed the search at 6 am on Saturdays and Sundays, continuing using drones and helicopters to help with the search.
“In coordination with the Tourism Police, the Civil Defense, the Dominican Navy, the National Police and other rescue organizations, four drones teams equipped with advanced technology have been deployed to carry out an exhaustive search in the coastal area of Bavaro,” said the National Dominican Emergency System in a statement on Sunday.
The Riu Hotels Chain said in a statement on Sunday he was “deeply concerned about the disappearance of one of our guests.”
“From the moment its absence was reported, we have been working closely with local authorities, including the Police and the Navy, to carry out an exhaustive search,” said the hotel. “We would like to express our deepest sympathy for family and friends during this incredibly difficult time … we are completely committed to doing everything in our power to help in this situation.”
A spokesman from Pittsburgh University has He urged anyone with information About Konanki's disappearance to contact the Sheriff's office of the Loudoun County.
“The university officials are in contact with the family of Sudiksha Konanki, as well as with the authorities in the county of Soudoun, Virginia, and we have offered our full support in their efforts to find it and bring it home safely,” the spokesman told NBC News.
The Sheriff of the Loudoun County, Michael Chapman, said his office is working with the Dominican authorities and the state and federal agencies to help locate Konanki.
The FBI also said that the Dominican authorities lead the investigation, but the office “is ready to help our international partners with any request for assistance.”
Konanki is also a citizen of India, but his family has lived in the United States since 2006 and they are permanent residents.
The Indian embassy in the Dominican Republic is also helping with the investigation.
“The Embassy of India in Dr. has taken leadership working with our State Department and the application of the law on the ground. Our office supports those efforts and continues to investigate locally, ”said the Sheriff's office in a statement to CNN.
The news comes after an Edmonton man suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bar attack in the Dominican Republic.
Chase Delore-Rowan was in a resort bar at the Royalton Splash in Punta Cana with his family in January to celebrate his 18th birthday when he was raised by the neck of his shirt and hit his head first on a floor of tiles in a resort bar.
The skull was broken from top to bottom, and a blood clot of the size of a grapefruit displaced his brain.
A Canadian man who was also invited at the resort has been accused of assault that caused bodily damage.
– With files from the Canadian press
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