Jharkhand: 6 Students Drown In Hazaribagh Dam After Bunking Classes For Picnic

The deceased were identified as Rajnish Pandey, Sumit Kumar, Mayank Singh, Praveen Gope, Ishan Singh and Shivsagar Singh.

Representative Image: 6 school students drowned in Jharkhand ( Image Source :Getty )

Six school students drowned in the Lotwa Dam of Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district on Tuesday. The students had gone for a 'picnic' after bunking their classes. According to officials, they were students of Class 12 and were aged between 17 and 18. The incident occurred at around 11 am, around 25 kilometres away from Hazaribag town. SP Manoj Ratan Chothe was quoted by news agency PTI as saying, “Six bodies have been fished out and sent to Sheikh Bhikhari Medical College for post-mortem examination."

News agency ANI quoted Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajeev Kumar as saying, "Six children died due to drowning. A total of seven children had come here & one of them is safe. Five bodies have been recovered. We have also informed the NDRF team."

#WATCH | Jharkhand: On the death of children due to drowning in Lotwa Dam in Hazaribagh district, Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajeev Kumar says, "Six children died due to drowning. A total of seven children had come here & one of them is safe...Five bodies have been… pic.twitter.com/6M8GJI9Ve3

— ANI (@ANI) October 17, 2023

The deceased have been identified as Rajnish Pandey, Sumit Kumar, Mayank Singh, Praveen Gope, Ishan Singh, and Shivsagar Singh, reported PTI. The school principal claimed that the students left their homes in their uniforms on Tuesday but they did not attend the classes and rather went to the dam. He added, “In all, 18 students of Class 12 were absent today.”

Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan and Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled the death of the students.

Radhakrishnan on X (formerly known as Twitter) said, “It is very sad and painful to know about the drowning of six children in Lotwa Dam of Hazaribagh district. I express my deepest condolences to the family members. May God give them the strength to bear this grief,” reported PTI.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren tweeted, "Heart is saddened by the sad news of the drowning of six children in Lotwa Dam of Hazaribagh district. Relief and rescue work is being done by the district administration. May God grant peace to the souls of the children who died in the accident and give strength to the bereaved families to bear this difficult time of grief."

हजारीबाग जिले के लोटवा डैम में छह बच्चों के डूबने की दुःखद खबर से मन व्यथित है। जिला प्रशासन द्वारा राहत और बचाव कार्य किया जा रहा है।
परमात्मा, हादसे में मरने वाले बच्चों की आत्मा को शांति प्रदान कर शोकाकुल परिवारजनों को दुःख की यह विकट घड़ी सहन करने की शक्ति दे।

— Hemant Soren (@HemantSorenJMM) October 17, 2023