3 school students drown in Meghna river in Sonargaon

Three school students have died while bathing in the Meghna river during an outing in Sonargaon, Narayanganj. Upon receiving the news, a Fire Service diving team conducted a rescue operation and recovered their bodies.

The tragic incident occurred around noon on Sunday, September 20, in the Bhatibandar area of Pirojpur union of the upazila, adjacent to the Meghna river and Kashban.

The three deceased are Arifin (15) and Ashikin (15), twin sons of Md Faruk of Bari Majlis area in Mogarapara union, and Abir Hossain (14), son of Abdul Alin of the same area.

According to Fire Service and local sources, Arifin and Ashikin were ninth-grade students of Mogarapara HGGGS Smriti Government School. Abir was an eighth-grade student of the same school, and Fariz Ahmed was in the sixth grade.

They left home this morning saying they were going to school. Later, the four friends went to bathe in the Meghna river in the Bhatibandar area around 12:30pm. Shortly after entering the river, Fariz Ahmed, who was with them, managed to get out of the water, but Arifin, Ashikin and Abir drowned. Upon receiving the news, a Fire Service diving team and police went to the scene and began a rescue operation.

Around 3:30pm, the Fire Service recovered the bodies of Arifin and Ashikin. An hour later, the body of the other was recovered.

Confirming the matter to the media, Narayanganj Fire Service Deputy Assistant Director Abdullah Al Arefin said, "The bodies of the three missing persons have been recovered. They drowned after entering the water to bathe. One of them managed to get out of the water. The bodies of the other three were recovered."

Sonargaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Barik said, "The bodies have been recovered and sent to the morgue for autopsy. After completing legal procedures, the bodies will be handed over to their families."