Two students of Upper Primary School, both aged 11 years, died of drowning while bathing in a water-filled pit outside their village in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi district on Tuesday evening. The pit was formed due to soil excavation for the expressway and was filled with rainwater.
The victims were identified as Ankul, son of Hariram of Naupurva village and Shivam, son of Chhote of the same village. They had gone to school on the occasion of Independence Day and left home without informing their families after returning from there.
The incident came to light when a passerby saw them drowning and informed the villagers. The villagers rushed to the spot and pulled them out with the help of ropes. They were taken to the CHC and then referred to the district hospital, where they were pronounced dead by the doctor.
The police reached the district hospital and sent the bodies for postmortem. Circle Officer (CO) of the area Satyendra Singh said that both the children had gone to bathe in a pond in the Saindee police station area and drowned after slipping into deep water. He said that a case has been registered and further investigation is on.
According to locals, the water level in the pond has risen considerably following rains in recent days. The minor boys failed to assess the depth because of it.
The incident caused grief and shock among both the families and the villagers. They have demanded compensation and safety measures from the authorities to prevent such accidents in the future.