Aspari (Kurnool): Six children, including a girl, drowned in a pond in at Chigili village in the district on Wednesday.

The incident occurred when the children, all students of Class 5 and aged around 10-11 years, entered the pond on the outskirts of the village to take a bath.

According to police, a group of seven students had gone to the pond. Six of them had entered the water. As the recent heavy rains had filled the pond, the children started drowning, and in the attempt to save one another, they all drowned. The lone survivor rushed to the village and informed the elders about the incident.

Villagers ran towards the pond and started searching for the children. All six were found dead.

The death of the children sent shock waves among villagers. Parents were inconsolable on seeing the dead bodies of their little ones.

On receipt of the information, the police rushed to the village. A case was registered and an investigation begun.

According to the police, the children had gone to the village school in the morning. After school, they headed towards the pond instead of returning home.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, ministers Nara Lokesh and B C Janardhan Reddy expressed shock over the tragedy.

YSRCP president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy also expressed his profound grief over the death of six children.

He said that the death of the students due to drowning is tragic. He conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased.