Patna, March 31: Three schoolchildren, between 13 and 14 years of age, drowned in the Ganga near Janardhan Ghat under Digha police station on Saturday while taking bath.

The incident occurred around 1.30pm, police officers said. Rakesh Kumar, Anshul Kumar and Anil Kumar, all students of Avian Public School in Rajiv Nagar, had gone to Janardhan Ghat around 12noon.

“The three boys went to the other side of the river by a boat to take bath there. Around 1.30pm, some residents informed the police that three boys had drowned in the river following which the cops reached the spot. The bodies were fished out with the help of boatmen and some divers. All three bodies have been sent to PMCH for post-mortem,” an officer at Digha police station said.

The three boys were students of classes IX and X. While Rakesh and Anshul lived in Rajiv Nagar, Anil was a resident of Patliputra Industrial area.

Police sources said Anshul’s father is Vinod Prasad, Rajesh’s father is Rajesh Vikram and Anil’s father has been identified as Dharmendra Dubey. “At present, the police are verifying more details about their (boys’) families,” another police officer said.

Another drowning incident had been reported on March 29 when four students, aged between 20 and 24 years, had drowned at Gai Ghat under Alamganj police station.