Two young sisters tragically drowned in a pond adjacent to their residence in Cumilla's Debidwar upazila on Friday afternoon (October 17).
The deceased were identified as nine-year-old Samia and seven-year-old Saniya, daughters of local electrician Billal Hossain Bhuiyan from the East Para Bhuiyan House of Asadnagar village in Vani union. Both victims were students at the local Asadnagar Government Primary School, with Samia enrolled in the third grade and Saniya in the first grade.
According to family members, the incident unfolded around 12:30 PM when the children's paternal uncle, Humayun Kabir, entered the pond to bathe. While in the water, his foot brushed against an object beneath the surface, prompting him to investigate. He immediately recovered Samia's lifeless body and subsequently pulled Saniya from the water following a frantic search. The local community rushed the two sisters to the Chandina Upazila Health Complex, where attending physicians declared them dead upon arrival.
Relatives surmised that the sisters had gone to the pond to bathe at noon, during which time the younger sibling, Saniya, likely slipped from the ghat steps into deep water, leading Samia to attempt a rescue before both succumbed to the depths. Shariful Islam Bhuiyan, a relative, noted that Samia and Saniya were the eldest among Billal Hossain's three daughters, leaving behind a two-year-old toddler named Mariam Akhter and casting a profound shadow of grief over the entire neighborhood.
Officer-in-Charge Moniruzzaman of Debidwar Police Station stated on Friday night (October 17) at approximately 11:00 PM that he learned of the tragedy through journalists and was informed that the children had already been buried. Nevertheless, law enforcement has dispatched a sub-inspector to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
