Six people – three students and three children – drowned in separate incidents in Chapainawabganj, Gopalganj and Chattogram districts between Saturday and Sunday.
United News of Bangladesh reported that three children, including a 13-month-old baby, drowned in separate incidents in flood-affected areas of Chapainawabganj Sadar and Shibganj upazilas Sunday afternoon.
The deceased are Mojahidur Rihan, 7, and Abdullah Al Arian, 5, both from the Charmohanpur-Chakpara area under Chapainawabganj municipality, and 13-month-old Abu Sayeed from Dasharashia village in Shibganj upazila.
Matiur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Chapainawabganj Sadar model police station, said that the lower-lying areas of Charmohanpur were inundated following a rise in the water level of the Mahananda River. Rihan and Arian reportedly drowned while playing near a flooded pond.
Locals recovered their bodies, floating in the pond, at around 2:30pm and rushed them to Chapainawabganj District Hospital, where doctors declared them dead, said OC Matiur Rahman.
A case of unnatural death has been filed with Sadar police station in this regard.
In a separate incident, Abu Sayeed drowned in a pond adjacent to his home in Dasharashia village of Shibganj upazila at around 1:00pm while playing near the water.
Family members found the child in the pond and took him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said Shibganj police station OC Golam Kibria.
In Gopalganj, a seventh-grade schoolboy drowned in a pond at Hazrabari village under Kotalipara upazila of the district on Sunday, reported Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
The deceased is Badal Gain, 14, son of Babul Gain of the village and a seventh-grade student of Hazrabari-Tikiribari High School.
Badal drowned in the pond near his house while taking bath at around 10:00am, said sub-inspector Sirajul Islam, in-charge of the Bhangarhat naval police investigation centre.
Badal was rescued and taken to the upazila health complex where the on-duty doctor declared him dead.
Another BSS report said that a Chattogram University student and her cousin died after drowning in a pond in Satkania upazila of the district.
The incident occurred at around 7:00pm on Saturday in the Noorgaonpara area of ward no-1 in Chhadaha Union under the upazila.
The deceased are Afifa Abedin, 22, a second-year student of the department of human resource management at Chattogram University, and her cousin Hujaira Noor, 8, a second grade student of Uttar Chhadaha Government Primary School. Afifa was from Monu Fakirhat area of Kanchana Union, while Hujaira was from Chhadaha Union.
According to family sources, they were visiting their aunt’s house and went to the pond behind the house.
At one point, Hujaira accidentally fell into the water. In an attempt to save her, Afifa jumped in but also drowned, as neither of them could swim.
Family members, after a search, rescued and rushed them to a nearby private hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
