Two children drown in ocean in Sitakunda

Two children drowned in the ocean while offering puja in Sitakunda of Chattogram.

This incident took place on Sunday afternoon at the Bara Kumira Ghatghar sea coast in Kumira Union of the upazila.

The deceased were Khushi Jal Das, 12, daughter of Anil Das, and Kishori Das, 9, daughter of Rana Das. They were residents of Anil Sardar’s house in the fisherman neighbourhood of Ghatghar area in Kumira Union.

According to locals, on the occasion of Ganga Puja, the fishermen gathered at 9am at the Kumira-Sandwip ferry terminal for the puja and then went to bathe in the ocean. At this time, the two children went missing in the water. After a long search, around noon, the fishermen recovered the bodies of the two children.

Anil Dash, father of Khushi, said, “In the morning, my daughter went to the ocean to perform Ganga Puja along with other children of the house. After the puja, everyone returned home, but my daughter and another girl did not return, so we assumed they had drowned in the tidal water. After three hours, the family members recovered the bodies of both children.”

Abdullah Al Mamun, senior station officer of Kumira Fire Service, said, “In the afternoon, we received news that two children had gone missing in the ocean. Quickly arriving at the scene with our unit, we learned that the fishermen had recovered the bodies of the two children.”