Pabna/Cox’s Bazar, Sept 12 (V7N) – Five children died in separate drowning incidents in Pabna and Cox’s Bazar districts on Friday, after they went into rainwater and a river to bathe, respectively.
In Pabna, three children drowned in rainwater that had accumulated in a field in Dashpara village of Char Tarapur Union under Pabna Sadar upazila around 2pm.
The deceased were identified as Sumi Khatun, 7, daughter of Shimul Mallik, and siblings Khalid Hossain, 8, and Afia Khatun, 6, children of Ashraful Islam. All three were students at a local kindergarten school.
According to local residents, the children went to bathe in rainwater accumulated in a field near their homes on Friday afternoon. At one point, one of them went underwater. The other two drowned while attempting to rescue the child.
Local residents later recovered all three children and rushed them towards Sujanagar Upazila Health Complex, but they died on the way to the hospital.
Pabna Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Tariqul Islam confirmed the incident and said police were sent to the scene after receiving the report.
Meanwhile, two children drowned in the Naf River at Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar on Friday morning.
The deceased were identified as Mohammad Nishan, 12, son of Mohammad Ullah, and Arjin, 10, son of Kefayet Ullah, both residents of Uttarpara area of Shah Porir Dwip.
Local residents said Nishan and Arjin went to bathe in the Naf River near Shah Porir Dwip jetty around 10:30am. They went missing in the river at one point, prompting local fishermen and residents to launch a search by boat. Coast Guard personnel later joined the rescue operation.
After nearly four hours of searching, the two children were recovered from the Naf River near the Shah Porir Dwip Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) outpost around 2pm.
Arjin was recovered dead, while Nishan was rescued in critical condition and taken to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Sanjeeb, in-charge of Shah Porir Dwip Police Outpost, said the children were recovered with the help of local residents after they went missing while bathing in the river.
Dr Nusrat Jahan, a physician at the emergency department of Teknaf Upazila Health Complex, said Nishan was brought to the hospital in critical condition but had died before arrival. She said he may have died after ingesting a large amount of water.
Teknaf Model Police Station OC Saiful Islam confirmed the deaths of the two children.
The separate incidents have cast a pall of grief over the affected communities, with relatives and local residents mourning the deaths.
END/MSR/MSI/SMA/
