Bhagalpur: Six minors, including three girls, drowned while taking a bath in floodwaters accumulated in Taraita Narayanpur Diara in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district on Monday.
All of them were 12-14 years old. A pall of gloom has descended on the neighbourhood after the incident.
The incident happened when the victims went for a bath on the occasion of Karma-Dharma Puja. According to locals, one of the children reached deep waters and started to drown. The others spotted him in distress and drowned while attempting to save him.
The deceased have been identified as Puja Kumari (13), Jyoti Kumari (14), Minakshi Kumari (12), Rahul Kumar (14), Ayush (12) and Vikas Kumar (13). They were residents of Baikunthpur Dudhaila (Vishnu Tola Ward Number 27) under the Sultanganj police limits in Bhagalpur district.
As soon as the news spread, a large number of residents from nearby villages assembled on the spot and sought intervention of local police and administrative officials to launch a rescue operation, The New Indian Express reported.
Local divers were pressed into service to search for the victims. The bodies were recovered and sent to the local Primary Health Centre where the relatives of the victims had gathered.
“We have received information about the incident. A police team has rushed to the spot to inquire into the matter. Details are awaited,” a senior officer deputed at the Bhagalpur district magistrate’s office said.
