Five drown in canal in Sonbhadra, 1 still missing

Six people, including two minors, were swept away in a canal in a hilly area here after last nights heavy rains and hailstorm, police said on Saturday. Bodies of five of them have been recovered from the canal, they said. As the flow in the canal increased, six persons were swept away.

Six people, including two minors, were swept away in a canal in a hilly area here after last night's heavy rains and hailstorm, police said on Saturday. Bodies of five of them have been recovered from the canal, they said. All six of them had gone to a jungle near Baitara canal to get wood, Additional Superintendent of Police Kalu Singh said. ''In the evening, due to sudden heavy rains and hailstorm, they started looking for a safe place. As the flow in the canal increased, six persons were swept away. Police and search teams have recovered five bodies so far, and search is still on to find the body of a woman,'' he said. The victims were identified as Rajkumari, 40, Reeta, 32, Rajpati, 10, Hiravati, 22, and Vimlesh, 12, the officer said.