Teen slips in Ganga taking selfie, 3 jump to rescue; all 4 die in Ballia

Varanasi: A mundan ceremony turned tragic in Ballia on Sunday morning as four members of an extended family, including two sisters, drowned while bathing in the river Ganga at Shivrampur Ghat under City Kotwali police station limits.According to police, family members and relatives of Vashisth Chauhan of Kalyanpur had gathered at Shivrampur Ghat for a child’s mundan ceremony. Around 8 am, a teenage girl slipped while taking a selfie on her mobile phone and began to drown. Other family members tried to rescue her, but three of them were swept away in the process.Locals and boatmen jumped in to help. The fire brigade and SDRF teams also joined them. Two girls were rescued. However, Harshita Chauhan, 17, her sister Nandita Chauhan, 12, of Garh Rampur Bhoj area, and their relatives Arun Chauhan, 20, of Kalyanpur and Arjun Chauhan, 19, of Ghazipur could not be saved, said CO (City) Mohd Usman, who camped at the ghat to monitor the search operation.Panic gripped the riverbank as family members and relatives broke into cries and screams.