4 children drown in pond in Rajasthan's Churu

Churu: Four boys drowned while bathing in a pond in Rajasthan's Churu district on Monday, police said.

The incident took place in Bhaleri area of the district, they said.

The children, aged between 8 and 15 years, had gone to the pond to take a bath when one of them accidentally slipped into the water. The other three also fell into the pond while trying to rescue him, the police said.

The children lived near the pond and their parents were busy with farming work at the time of the incident. Later, someone spotted the bodies floating in the pond and the family members of the boys and the police were informed, they said.

The bodies were handed over to the families of the deceased after a post-mortem examination, they said.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condoled the deaths of the children and termed the incident "very heartbreaking and unfortunate".

"My deepest condolences are with the parents and relatives of the children. May God give them strength in this very difficult time," he tweeted in Hindi.