Patna: Two minor brothers drowned while taking a bath in floodwater near Bandhkatta under Bharso panchayat in Parbatta block of Khagaria district on Monday, police said.Several villagers were bathing in the floodwater when the two brothers entered it. One of them suddenly moved into deeper water and began drowning. Seeing his brother in distress, the other jumped in to save him. Both were caught in the strong current and drowned.Local residents, divers and Aapda Mitra volunteers launched a search operation and pulled the brothers out after around 30 minutes. One of the boys was reportedly breathing when rescued and was taken to Parbatta Community Health Centre, where doctors declared both dead despite efforts to revive them, police said.The deceased were identified as Govind Kumar, 16, and his brother Jai Kumar, 14, sons of Itwari Mandal of Teliya Bathan village.Gogri SDO Sanjay Kumar and SDPO Chandan Kumar Thakur visited the hospital and took stock of the situation.The SDO said the flood threat had not completely subsided and warned people against allowing children to enter floodwater, as several areas still had deep pits and strong currents.He said continuous public announcements were being made in flood-affected panchayats and divers, boats and Aapda Mitra volunteers had been deployed at vulnerable locations.“Action is also underway to provide assistance to the deceased’s family within 24 hours as per govt provisions,” he added.
