Three girls drown in a government pond near Patna on Bhai Dooj
Two of them went into deep water trying to save the first, local people said; the youngest was 7.
Three girls from the same village drowned in a government pond in Patna district’s Phulwari Sharif block on 10 November, the day of Bhai Dooj.
The girls, aged 7 to 18, had gone to bathe in the pond in Hinduni village. One of them slipped into deep water, and the other two drowned while trying to save her, local people told Amar Ujala and Dainik Bhaskar.
One of the girls was taken to AIIMS Patna, where doctors declared her dead, Dainik Bhaskar reported.
Bhai Dooj, which falls two days after Diwali, is a festival on which sisters pray for their brothers. The village was in mourning, the papers reported.
Safety near water
Drowning is one of the leading causes of death among children in India. Ponds and tanks often have steep, unmarked drops. Children should not bathe in them without an adult who can swim, and anyone trying to rescue a drowning person should throw a rope or something that floats rather than go into deep water.
The district administration had not announced any compensation for the families when this story was published.
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