Patna, Oct 24 (IANS): In a tragic accident, four members of a family, including three children, drowned in a village pond in the Sitamarhi district of Bihar on Thursday.

The deceased were identified as Nazia Khatoon (13), Nasrin Khatoon (8), Jenab Khatoon (6) and their 60-year-old grandmother, Sagira Khatoon.

The incident took place at Ursaul Tola Mohanpur village under the jurisdiction of the Bela police station, located near the India-Nepal border. Recently, the area was flooded due to the excessive water released from Nepal.

The accident happened when Nazia, along with her two sisters and grandmother, went to the pond to bathe. The pond's slippery surface made it difficult for them to stay afloat. When Jenab began drowning, Nazia, Nasrin and Sagira tried to save her, but all tragically drowned in the process.

Islam Ansari, Sagira's husband, recounted the heartbreaking event, stating, “I was not at home when my wife and grandchildren went to the pond. Upon realising they were missing, I searched the area and discovered their bodies floating in the pond.”

Ansari said that the father of Nazia Khatoon is living in Saudi Arabia and has been informed about the heartbreaking event. The tragedy quickly spread across the village, and a large crowd gathered at the scene.

Despite the efforts of the villagers to retrieve the bodies from the pond, Nazia, Nasrin, Jenab and their grandmother Sagira Khatoon had already lost their lives by the time they were recovered.

Rama Shankar Kumar, the SHO of Bela Police Station, confirmed the incident, saying that the area is flood-affected, and numerous ponds have formed as a result.

“Around 3 PM, the victims, members of the same family, went to one of these ponds to bathe and tragically drowned. The police had informed the family about conducting a postmortem, but the family declined. The police are continuing their investigation into the matter,” Kumar said.