Bodies of 2 children found in a fishing net in Cox’s Bazar

The two had been playing with other children near their home but went missing

Two children have died after drowning in a water-filled pit in Cox's Bazar’s Ramu Upazila.

Mufizur Rahman, chairman of Rajarkul Union Parishad, said the incident took place at the West Rajarkul Moulvi Para on Thursday evening.

The dead are Md Rihab, 7, and Maria, 5, children of Saudi expatriate Mohammad Abdullah, a local resident.

Mufizur said, “Rihab and Maria were playing with neighbourhood children near their home just before evening. At one point, they wandered towards a bridge by the railway line. When they did not return home in the late evening, the family members searched for them but could not track them down.”

“Later, a local man named Hasmat Ali, cast his net in a water-filled pit near the railway bridge while returning home after fishing. The bodies of the two siblings were caught in his net”, he added.

Chairman Mufizur Rahman said, "Several pits were created during the construction of the railway line and bridge. Recently, rainwater has accumulated in these pits, leading to the drowning of the two children."

Ramu Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abu Taher Dewan confirmed that the siblings died after falling into one of these pits. Their bodies were recovered with the help of locals and taken home.