Banka/ Begusarai: A spate of drowning incidents has underscored worsening flood conditions in Bihar, with four children swept away in separate river mishaps in Banka and seven fatalities reported across Begusarai on Sunday.
In Banka’s Rajoun area, three teenagers from Singhnan village were carried away by the strong current of the Chandan river while attempting to swim back across; a fourth boy, Alok Tanti, survived and raised the alarm, prompting an SDRF search operation by evening.
A second incident in Banka’s Barahat area saw eight-year-old Dilkhush Kumar of Hijaria village go missing in the fast-flowing Gahira river while bathing, with local teams continuing search efforts.
Begusarai recorded seven deaths due to drowning in floodwaters at different locations, triggering panic and day-long chaos in affected localities.
In Shamho police station limits (Akbarpur Dhanha), a 26-year-old mother, Vandana Kumari, and her eight-year-old daughter, Aanya Kumari, drowned, while in Akbarpur Barari panchayat’s Bijulia, 30-year-old Dheeraj Kumar died after being swept away while moving livestock.
Additional Begusarai fatalities included 75-year-old Jagdish Singh in Bhawanandpur (Matihani PS) near his home, and a two-year-old girl, Anjali Kumari, in Salemabad (Sahebpur Kamal PS), both lost to rising floodwater in residential areas.
Two young men also drowned in Begusarai: 45-year-old Ashok Yadav in Dadupur (Bachhwara PS) and 22-year-old Gautam Paswan of Rupnagar, Ward 5 (Chakia PS), highlighting the risks posed by strong currents and submerged hazards.
Authorities and villagers have intensified searches in the affected river stretches, as rising water levels and swift flows complicate rescue and recovery efforts across inundated pockets.
