Three children, including two sisters, drowned while bathing in a pond in the Jamdia Dakshinpara area of Bagharpara upazila, Jashore, on Friday afternoon.
The deceased were identified as Lamia, 13, and Sultana, 11, daughters of Nesar Ali, and Fahima, 10, daughter of Ashikul Islam. All the victims were residents of Jamdia village.
A neighbour, Mahbur Rahman, said the children went to bathe in Ikram Molla’s pond near their house at around 11:30am. When they failed to return, their grandmother, accompanied by other villagers, went to the pond and found them floating under the stairs of the landing. They were immediately rushed to the hospital, where the duty doctor declared them dead.
Mahbur Rahman added that the pond is rarely visited by people, and those who do bathe there usually leave quickly.
Confirming the tragedy, local Union Parishad (UP) member Sarwar Husain said the pond was virtually abandoned and was seldom used by locals for bathing.
Dr Masnun Abdullah of the Bagharpara Upazila Health Complex said the children were brought dead to the hospital at around 12:50pm. “They had no heartbeat,” he said, adding that an electrocardiogram (ECG) confirmed there were no signs of life.
Bagharpara Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahjalal Alam confirmed that a police team was dispatched to the spot upon receiving the news, and an investigation into the matter is currently underway.
