Four children drown in pond in N’ganj

Four children drowned in a pond in Araihazar, Narayanganj, on Thursday evening. The deceased were identified as Jaifa, 10, Afsa, 12, Riya Moni, 8, and Rubaiya, 8.

They were residents of Khanpara in Duptara. The incident occurred in the Khanpara area of Duptara Union in the evening.

The fathers of the deceased Al Amin, father of Jaifa; Munna, father of Afsa; Jahangir, father of Riya Moni; and Rakib, father of Rubaiya. All four children were students at local schools.

Officer-in-Charge of Araihazar Police Station Sabujel Hossain said police were sent to the scene after receiving the information. As the families did not file any complaints, the bodies were handed over to their relatives.

Dr Shimul, a physician at the emergency department of Araihazar Upazila Health Complex, said two of the children were brought to the health complex and the other two to a local clinic. “All four had died before they were brought to the hospitals,” he said.

According to local residents, family members began searching for the children after they could not find them at home in the afternoon. At one point, they noticed the children’s shoes and sandals lying beside a pond near Munna’s house, raising suspicion that they might have fallen into the water.

Family members and local residents then entered the pond and recovered the four children from the water.

After being rescued in the evening, two of the children were taken to Araihazar Upazila Health Complex, while the other two were taken to a local clinic. Doctors at the facilities examined them and declared all four dead.