Mirzapur: A 17-year-old boy drowned and another remains missing after a tragic incident during Chhath Puja celebrations in Vindhyachal on Monday, police have confirmed.

The tragedy occurred around midday when five villagers entered the River Ganga at Nifra village to take a ritual bath and began struggling in the water. A local boatman managed to rescue three of them, but two boys were swept away.

According to Vindhyachal Station House Officer Ved Prakash Pandey, those rescued were identified as Shivam Pandey (25), Shivam Sharma (17) and Som Pandey (11), all residents of Nifra village.

Boatman Lau Nishad is said to have saved the trio by throwing an oar towards them, but was unable to reach the other two boys in time.

Later in the evening, local divers recovered the body of Anurag Saroj (17), while the search continues for Om Pandey (16).

Police and local rescue teams are continuing efforts to locate the missing teenager.

Eleven drown in Jharkhand over two days

Meanwhile, at least eleven people, most of them children, have drowned in separate incidents across Jharkhand over the past two days, largely during Chhath Puja celebrations, police said on Monday.

Five children lost their lives in Hazaribag, Garhwa and Simdega districts on Monday, while six others drowned in Simdega and Palamau on Sunday. A teenage boy and two men are also reported missing in waterbodies.

In Hazaribag, two girls – Gungun Kumari (11) and Rupa Tiwari (12) – drowned in a pond in Bela village under Keredari police station area during Chhath Puja on Sunday evening, police said. Their bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination.

In Garhwa, Rahul Kumar (13) drowned in the Danro River under Sadar police station limits while taking a bath on Monday afternoon, according to police.

Sadar police station in-charge Sunil Tiwari said that Kumar drowned when he went into deep water while taking a bath in the river. Locals pulled him out of the water and took him to Sadar Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

A two-and-a-half-year-old girl drowned in a bucket full of water at Mayangsor village under Bano police station limits in Simdega district on Monday, a police official said. The child and her grandmother were at home when the incident occurred. The grandmother went to another room, but when she returned, she found the child drowned in the bucket, the official added.

In Seraikela-Kharsawan district, a 14-year-old boy, Aryan Yadav, drowned in the Subernarekha River near Saherbera under Chandil police station limits on Monday evening after offering evening arghya as part of the Chhath Puja rituals, police said.

Chandil Police Station Officer-in-Charge Dilshan Birua told PTI that 14-year-old Aryan Yadav had entered the danger zone of the river and shouted for help while drowning. “Following that, Pratik Kumar Yadav (19) and Sanjay Singh (45) jumped into the river to rescue him. The NDRF team and local divers managed to recover the body of the boy while the search for the two men will resume on Tuesday morning.”

In Palamu, a 16-year-old boy went missing after jumping into a canal on Monday, an official said. The incident occurred near Chaura bridge in Bishnupur village under Hussainabad police station limits.

Hussainabad Circle Officer Pankaj Kumar, Deori OP police, and the Hussainabad police team rushed to the spot and began rescue operations. Kumar said the boy had come to his maternal grandparents’ home in Fatimachak village in the Hussainabad area.

On Sunday evening, three children drowned in a pond in Simdega, while three others died in a similar incident in Palamu district.

Authorities have urged the public to take precautions during Chhath Puja rituals, especially near rivers and ponds.

PTI