Bettiah: Four children drowned in a river in Bihar’s West Champaran district on Friday afternoon while bathing and filming a social media reel, in what authorities called a tragic consequence of extreme summer heat and unsupervised access to water bodies.
The incident took place near Gopala Brahma Sthan in Bettiah’s Narkatiaganj area, where 10 to 11 children had gone to visit relatives. Seeking relief from the heat, they entered the Harboda river to bathe. During their time in the water, four boys—Dilshad Alam, Arif, Rizwan and Irshad—moved into deeper areas while making a video and began to drown.
Local residents rushed to help after hearing cries for help, but rescue attempts came too late. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), along with local divers, launched a search and recovered the bodies. The children were declared dead at a nearby hospital.
“The children were bathing near their relative’s house in ward number two of Narkatiaganj. Due to high water levels, four of them drowned. Their bodies were recovered with the help of divers,” said Sudhanshu Shekhar, the Circle Officer overseeing the rescue operation.
The incident sent shockwaves through the locality, as mourning gripped the families and neighbours. Loud wails, fainting family members, and grief-stricken villagers marked the scene as preparations began to cremate all four boys from the same locality.
This is the second such tragedy reported in the region within days. In a similar incident in Bagaha, four children also drowned, three of whom were girls. In a separate case, two girls cutting grass near the Gandak river drowned—one body has been found while the search for the other continues.
