Patna: Four girls died and one is missing after they drowned in the Ganga while bathing at Shyampur Baghchapra ghat under Mufassil police station area in Munger district on Wednesday morning. The victims included four sisters and their neighbour, police said.The deceased have been identified as Sangeeta Kumari (18), Sonali (12) and Sandhya Kumari (14), daughters of daily wage worker Kranti Paswan, and Hina Kumari (19), daughter of Chamo Paswan. Another daughter of Kranti, Vinita Kumari (16), is still missing.Locals said the girls went to the ghat around 8am. While bathing, one of the sisters ventured into deep water and began to drown. An elder sister tried to rescue her but also slipped in. In the attempt to save each other, all five drowned.Villagers alerted police and rushed to the spot. Teams from Mufassil and Basudeopur police stations reached soon after. Munger DM Nikhil Dhanraj deputed district disaster management officer Kamal Kishore to lead rescue operations.Around 10am, Sangeeta’s body was recovered nearly 1.5km away near Mohli ghat. Over the next few hours, the bodies of Hina, Sonali and Sandhya were also retrieved. Search operations are on for Vinita.The DM said the girls had come from about 2km away and were unaware of the river’s depth. “They stepped ahead and slipped into deep water. They tried to save each other but none could survive,” he said.Sangeeta’s maternal uncle, Sanjay Kumar, said she was the eldest sibling and a bright student who had cleared the Intermediate exam this year and applied for BA admission at BRM College, Munger.Villagers said Sangeeta tried till the end to save her sisters. “All four sisters were holding each other’s hands, but none survived,” a local said. None of the girls knew how to swim, villagers added.Kranti, a daily wage worker, lives in a tiled house in Shyampur Baghchapra village under Basudeopur police station with his seven children. Police said SDRF teams are continuing the search. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.
