Motihari | Six children, including five girls, drowned while taking bath in a water-filled pit in Bihar's East Champaran district, police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred late on Tuesday at Lohargava village under the jurisdiction of Kesariya police station.

The deceased have been identified as Diksha Kumari (12), Sonakshi Kumari (9), Priya Kumari (7), Arayadhya Kumari (11), Choti Kumari (8), and Prince Kumar (11).

"According to villagers, when one of the girls entered the pit to take a bath, she slipped and started drowning, and in a bid to save her, the others, too, jumped into the water and drowned," Rahul Kumar, Station House Officer of Kesariya police station, told reporters.

"Officials from the district administration reached the spot, recovered the bodies and sent them for post-mortem examination," Kumar added.