Four young girls tragically drowned while reportedly gathering water lilies in a lake in Meherpur this afternoon. The incident took place at Mashuribhaja Beel in the Baradi area of Meherpur Sadar Upazila.
The deceased have been identified as Fatema Khatun, 14, and Afia, 10, who were the daughters of Samad; Mim, 14, the daughter of Isa Ali; and Aleya, 10, the daughter of Saharul.
Fatema and Mim were students at Mominpur High School, while Afia and Aleya attended Rajnagar Government Primary School.
Sumaiya Jahan Jhurka, the assistant commissioner (land) of Meherpur Sadar Upazila, mentioned that locals speculate the girls drowned while collecting water lilies. She stated that residents initially discovered one body around 4:30 pm and later found three more. The fourth body was recovered by fire service personnel.
Out of the four victims, two were pronounced dead at the scene and were not transported to the hospital. The other two were declared dead upon arrival by the attending physicians.
Mesbauddin, the officer-in-charge (OC) of Meherpur Sadar Police Station, confirmed the fatalities and noted that an investigation is currently in progress.