Six children killed in road accident in Bihar

Six children were killed and three others injured today, when a car carrying them, skidded off a road and fell into a pit filled with water, police said.

The incident happened under the jurisdiction of Kursakanta police station, the police said, adding, all the deceased, in the age group of 8-14 years, were members of an extended family.

The vehicle was a part of a convoy of six cars carrying a marriage party, a police officer said.

The driver of the car took a sharp turn to avoid hitting a child standing on road, rammed into a tree beside it, overturned and fell into the pit filled with water, the the District Magistrate (DM) of Araria, Himanshu Sharma said.

The marriage party was travelling to Raniganj block from Kursakanta block within the district, the DM said.

The car's driver fled from the spot after the incident, he said.

Locals pulled the occupants out of the submerged car, the DM said.

All the six children were declared brought dead when they were taken to Sadar hospital, he said.

The three injured were out of danger, he added.

An ex-gratia of Rs four lakh will be paid to the next of kin of each of the deceased, the district magistrate said.