Ranchi, Mar 23 (IANS): Five children, including four girls, drowned in a pond in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district on Tuesday, the police said.

According to the police, the incident took place in Gadokhar village under Katamdag police station in Hazaribagh district when the children went to take bath in the pond. After one child drowned, the four other children tried to save him but they also got drowned in the process.

The victims have been identified as Kajal Kumari (14), Nikita Kumari (13), Riya Kumari (11), Durga Kumari (11) and Rishu Kumar (10). All the five children used to play together.

According to the villagers, the five children were playing near the pond on Tuesday when they decided to take a bath to beat the heat. The youngest child, Rishu, drowned first while the others also met with similar fate while attempting to save Rishu.

The villagers took them to the nearby hospital where they were declared dead. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.