Four Madrasah Students Drown in Narsingdi River Tragedy

A devastating incident unfolded in Narsingdi’s Raipura upazila on Thursday afternoon, where four young girls drowned whilst bathing in a river. The tragedy took place in the Kakon River, located in the Barkanda area under Chanderkandi union. All four victims were students at a local religious institution, the Gausia Nure Madina Mohila Madrasah. The incident has cast a profound blanket of grief over the entire village, leaving families devastated by the sudden loss of their children.

The deceased children have been identified by the authorities. They are 13-year-old Tabiya, daughter of Shamim Miah; nine-year-old Jannat Islam and her twin or sister of the same age, Ayesha, both daughters of Rubel Miah; and 10-year-old Sumaiya, daughter of Billal Miah. All the girls belonged to the same neighbourhood of Barkanda village, making the collective loss particularly painful for the close-knit rural community.

According to family members and local accounts, a group of six to seven female students were returning home from their madrasah classes at midday. Oppressed by the midday heat, the children decided to step into the Kakon River to bathe and cool off. None of the young girls possessed adequate swimming skills. As they waded deeper, one of the girls suddenly slipped into a deep underwater depression and began to submerge. In a desperate bid to rescue their drowning companion, the other children lunged forward, grabbing onto one another. The strong river currents quickly overwhelmed them, pulling four of the children under the surface within minutes.

Witnesses and nearby residents heard the commotion and rushed to the riverbank to initiate a rescue operation. The villagers managed to pull three of the girls from the water in an unconscious state. They were rushed to the Raipura Upazila Health Complex, where the attending medical officer pronounced them dead upon arrival.

Two other children were successfully rescued alive from the water, shaken but out of immediate danger. However, Sumaiya remained missing during the initial rescue phase. Following an agonizing search by local divers and villagers, her lifeless body was eventually recovered from a downstream section of the river.

Dr Ashrafur Rahman, a medical officer at the Raipura Upazila Health Complex, confirmed that three of the children were already deceased when brought to the hospital facility. Medical evaluations indicated that asphyxiation due to drowning was the cause of death.

MD Majibur Rahman, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Raipura Police Station, stated that law enforcement officials had been dispatched to the scene to assist the families and maintain order. The police have officially identified the deceased children and documented the incident. The bodies have been kept under administrative supervision whilst police officials consult with the grieving family members to determine the next necessary legal steps regarding the handover and burial procedures.