Patna, May 17 (IANS) Three individuals, including a man and his son, were feared dead after being swept away by a strong current of water in the Son river in Bihar’s Rohtas district on Saturday.

The incident occurred at Navara Ghat when they went to the river to bathe after a funeral.

The victims have been identified as Nageshwar Sharma (65), his son Ranjan Sharma (20) Ritesh Sharma, son of Satendra Sharma, all residents of Kajipur village.

Confirming the incident, Rohtas SP Roushan Kumar said that they had come to Navara Ghat to attend the funeral of Uday Sharma’s mother.

After the last rites, the three entered the river to bathe but were swept away by a strong water current.

One individual is believed to have drowned first, and the other two were pulled in while trying to save him.

Eyewitnesses raised an alarm, prompting immediate action from those nearby. Local police, the Circle Officer, the Sub-Divisional Officer, and the Nauhatta police team soon arrived at the scene.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel and local divers have launched a search and rescue operation amid the strong current.

The incident has cast a pall of gloom over Kajipur village, where the victims’ families are devastated.

Villagers are demanding compensation and relief for the affected families.

Earlier on April 27, five children drowned while bathing in the Son River near Bandu village under the jurisdiction of the Nauhatta police station area.

Three girls died in this tragic accident, while a boy and a girl were rescued safely.

All the children had come to attend a ‘Grih Pravesh’ ceremony at a relative’s house.

During the ceremony, they went to take a bath in the Son River but slipped into deep water. In this incident, the bodies of 17-year-old Ruchi Kumari, resident of Kutumb, Aurangabad, and 12-year-old Manisha Kumari, resident of Japla, Jharkhand, were recovered.

Sonali Kumari and Mohit Kumar were safely taken out of the river. The dead body of Palak Kumari was not traced.

–IANS

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