Nine children and one man drowned in Madhepura district when the boat ferrying them capsized on Thursday night. The group from Gujraghat village was returning home from a function in a nearby village. They were crossing the Panditpur Basa channel when the incident occurred, Saurav Shah, Madepura’s Superintendent of Police told The Hindu.
“The channel is generally dry but during the monsoon months water from the Kosi enters the channel. During the night the water current is unpredictable. There was a strong backward current suddenly and the boat got stuck in some vegetation and capsized. Most of the adults were saved but the children drowned,” Mr. Shah said. The incident took place around 10.30 p.m. Most of the children were aged below 12. Police recovered nine bodies on Thursday while the tenth body was found on Friday.