Nine teenagers drown during Chhatt festival in Jharkhand/Bihar

Jamshedpur/Khagaria, Oct 29 (UNI) At least nine teenagers, including two girls, drowned while taking a bath in rivers on the occasion of Chhat festival in Jharkhad and Bihar today, official sources said.

While seven youths were swept away after falling into quicksand in the Subarnarekha in Jharkahnd's Jamshedpur city, the two girls met a watery grave in the Ganga in Bihar's Khagaria district.

After day-long intensive search the divers fished out six bodies from Subarnarekha. The seventh victim is yet to be traced, police said.

Police said the divers recovered the bodies of Vikash Sahu, Manoj Dutta, Rajesh Dutta, Suraj Patra, Banty and Satish from the quicksand in the river. The search operation to locate Shiva, the seventh victim, has been suspended this evening, onwards.

The victims had gone to take a dip in the river to offer obeisance to the Sun god marking the end of Chhat festival.

All the bodies have been sent for post mortem, police said.

A Khagaria report said two girls drowned in the Ganga during Chhath celebration at Aguwani ghat.

Sub-divisional police officer Indu Shekhar Jha said the girls, have been identified as Neha and Ajak Kumari of Dumaria Bujurg village.

Efforts are underway to fish out the bodies, he added.

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