Two children drown while bathing in rain-swollen Narsingdi canal

Relatives suspect they were unable to gauge the depth of the canal

Two children have drowned after entering a rain-swollen canal to bathe in Narsingdi's Raipura Upazila, police say.

The incident took place on Friday afternoon at Srinagar’s Bheluarchar, Raipura Police chief Mujibur Rahman said.

The dead are Nipa Akter, 7, and Jannati Akter, 11 -- both from the Bheluarchar area.

Relatives say the two children went to bathe in the Bheluarchar canal on Friday afternoon.

Unable to gauge the depth of the excess rainwater that had accumulated, they drowned and died on the spot, they said.

"The bodies have been kept at Raipura Upazila Health Complex. Further action will be taken after discussion with the family," officer Mujibur Rahman says.