The bodies of the siblings were retrieved from the water pit by the police and fire fighters.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangements

Two siblings drowned in a water tank in a farmland at Velampattu village near Katpadi in Vellore on Wednesday.

Police said the deceased have been identified as M. Preethi (8) and her brother M. Eshwar (5), children of farmers V. Manikandan (34) and M. Priya (29).

They had been students of the government school in Velampattu.

Initial inquiry revealed that Manikandan and wife were busy in farm work in their three-acre agricultural land, when the children went missing.

A new house was being constructed in a portion of their farmland.

To provide water for the construction work, a 10-ft-deep temporary pit had been dug up to build a water tank.

Pit was full of rainwater

The deceased siblings were reportedly playing near the pit, filled with water from the rains in the past weeks, when they accidentally slipped into it.

When Manikandan came in search of the children, he was unable to find them anywhere in the farmland. Along with neighbours, the couple searched for the children and found their slippers along the bund of the water pit.

Police and fire fighters were informed who rushed to the spot and retrieved the bodies. A case has been registered and a probe is underway.