Bodies of four children fished out of the river

Bodies of four children, who were swept away in Mahane river in Chatra district of Jharkhand on Monday, were fished out of the water by a NDRF team today, police said.

One body had been retrieved soon after the incident yesterday.

The deputy superintendent of police(HQ), Pitambar Singh Khairwar said the NDRF had been pressed into service soon after the children were swept away yesterday and the four bodies were fished out from near Maa Bhadrakali temple under Itkhori police station.

The victims have been identified as Kundan Kumar (15), Bablu Kumar (14), Sunny Kumar (13) and Nitesh Kumar (12), he said.

A group of devotees from Maharajgung in Hazaribag district, including seven children and their family members had gone to Itkhori yesterday to offer their prayers at the temple on the occasion of the holy month of Shravana.

All the children were swept away when they went into the river for a dip. Two of the children had been rescued, while the body of one of them was retrieved soon after, the police said.