Two boys drowned in the Jhajh stream at Shivnagar in Garuda Municipality-5, Rautahat, on Saturday.

According to police, the victims have been identified as 10-year-old Niraj Sah, son of Sanjiv Sah, and 10-year-old Arjun Sah, son of Rajkishor Sah, both originally from ward 3 of Dewahi Gonahi Municipality and currently residing in Shivnagar.

The boys had gone to bathe in the Jhajh stream near the Shiva temple when they drowned.

Locals rescued them and rushed them to Sanjivani Hospital in Shivnagar, but doctors pronounced them dead on arrival, police said.

The bodies have been handed over to their grandfather, Budhan Sah, after postmortem.

Earlier, three girls from Rajdevi Municipality had also drowned while returning to Gaur after cutting grass.

Authorities said the number of child drowning incidents has been increasing in Rautahat in recent months.