Two siblings drown in swimming pool at high-end apartment

Rajkot: Tragedy struck a Nepalese family just a day before their two children were to leave for their native place, as both siblings drowned in a swimming pool of a high-end residential complex in the Raiyadhar area of Rajkot city on Monday. The incident occurred around 3pm in the swimming pool of Sopaan Heights. The siblings were identified as Dipesh (7) and his sister Deepshikha (5).According to preliminary information, the children were playing near their residence while their mother was busy with household chores and their father was resting after work. During this time, the children reached the swimming pool area. Though the pool is secured with a protective grill, the gate was reportedly left open and the children managed to gain access. According to police, Dipesh was swimming in the children's pool, but his sister mistakenly jumped into the adult pool and started drowning. Dipesh tried to help his sister, but both children eventually drowned.Their father, Karan Bhandari, arrived in Rajkot a fortnight ago and was working as a housekeeping staff member of the society, police said.Residents of the building were alerted soon after the incident and rushed to the spot. The children were immediately taken to the civil hospital in an unconscious condition, where doctors declared both of them dead on arrival.Police officials said Bhandari was planning to send his children back to Nepal on March 31, but tragedy struck just a day before their departure.The Rajkot City Police registered a case of accidental death under Section 194 of the BNSS and initiated an investigation into the incident.Earlier on March 25, a similar tragedy was reported in the city when a 19-year-old B.Tech student Dharmin Moridhara slipped into an unused swimming pool while trying to retrieve a ball.