Three girls, including twin sisters, drowned in a canal near Saatbigha area in Patharaiya Gujaruwa of ward 5 in Janaki Rural Municipality, Kailali, on Friday.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Prakash Dangi, chief of the Tikapur Area Police Office, the girls drowned while bathing in the Kulariya canal, which is part of the Rani Jamara Kulariya Irrigation Project.

The victims have been identified as twin sisters Nisha Bajgain and Manushi Bajgain of block number 15 in ward 1 of Tikapur Municipality, and Sulochana Timilsaina of Gujruwa in ward 5 of Janaki Rural Municipality.

Police said Nisha and Manushi were studying in grade five at Janajagriti Secondary School in Sitapur, while Sulochana was a grade four student at Saraswati Secondary School in Durgouli, Janaki Rural Municipality–1.

DSP Dangi said they drowned while bathing in the canal during a visit to their relatives’ house. The bodies have been kept at Tikapur Hospital for postmortem.