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Villagers trying to take the 4x4 out of the pond after five children were drowned. Image Credit: Lata Rani /Gulf News

Patna: Five children met their watery grave after a jeep they were travelling in plunged into a pond near a temple in Bihar on Monday, sending shock waves in the areas. Of the deceased, three are girls and two boys.

The heart-rending incident took place at Brahmpur village in western Bihar’s Buxur district early Monday morning.

Police said the victims’ family members had gone to a nearby temple to offer prayers to Hindu deity Shiva on the first Monday of the holy Hindu month of Shravan.

The jeep was parked near the pond and the children were told to wait in the jeep but they unintentionally freed the handbrake and also removed the gear, bringing it into neutral. Instantly, the jeep began gliding towards the pond. The children began crying for help. They drowned in the pond which was full due to the continuous monsoon rain. The victims were aged between eight and 12.

“The bodies of all the children have been taken out and sent for post mortem,” a local police official, R.K. Gupta, told the media today.

The victims belonged to the families of Chunnu Yadav and Buchun Yadav, from neighbouring Bhojpur district.