A tragic drowning incident claimed the life of a five-year-old boy in Saltha upazila under Faridpur district on Wednesday afternoon. The victim, identified as Md Abdur Rahman, accidentally fell into a deep, water-filled ditch while playing near his home in Majhardia village under Majhardia Union. He was the youngest son of local resident Robi Fakir. The sudden loss has cast a heavy pall of gloom over the entire village community.
According to local sources and family members, the incident occurred at around 11:30 am on Wednesday, 16 September. Abdur Rahman was playing with a group of young neighbourhood children near a large agricultural ditch owned by Aminur Sardar, situated just a short distance from his family homestead. In the middle of their games, the five-year-old lost his footing and slipped into the deep water unnoticed by adults in the vicinity.
The gravity of the situation was realised when four-year-old Ismail Hossain, who was playing alongside Abdur Rahman, saw him struggling beneath the surface. Displaying remarkable presence of mind for his age, Ismail immediately ran back to the village to raise the alarm. Upon hearing the news, frantic relatives and neighbours rushed to the ditch and began searching the murky water. They managed to pull Abdur Rahman out in an unconscious and critical state.
Hoping to save his life, family members transported the child without delay to the nearby Nagarkanda Upazila Health Complex for emergency medical evaluation. However, the attending physician pronounced him dead upon arrival. Medical staff confirmed that the child had already succumbed to asphyxiation caused by drowning prior to reaching the hospital.
Saltha Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Bablur Rahman Khan confirmed the fatality. He stated that the death was a pure accident resulting from an unsupervised fall into an open body of water. Following standard administrative and legal procedures, authorities released the body to the grieving family for burial without requiring an autopsy, as no foul play was suspected.
