Three children aged between 7 and 11, accidentally drowned in a large pit, illegally dug for sand mining near Sot River in an area named Islamnagar of Badaun district in UP.
The children, hurled forcefully from Kunwarpur village, were grazing cattle near the river when the accident took place, late on Saturday evening. Their families are yet to lodge a complaint with police.
According to a report, Altamash and Ismail aged 11, along with their neighbour, Monis aged 7, had gone towards the river with their cattle. It had been raining all day and the large pit was filled to the top.
A few children playing nearby said Monis suddenly slipped into the water. As he started drowning, Altamash and Ismail tried to rescue Monis. But they, too, lost their balance in the slippery mud and fell into the water. None of them knew how to swim and drowned.
After the other children ran towards the village to seek help, villagers dragged out the bodies. They were taken to a hospital in nearby Chandausi town by their families but the doctors claimed that they were already dead.
