Patiala, May 25 -- A Mohali-based couple, along with their three minor children, jumped into Bhakra canal near Rajpura in an alleged suicide pact on Sunday, police said.

While locals rescued the couple, aged 40 and 38, their three children - two girls and a boy - drowned after being swept away by the strong current.

A team of local divers later recovered the bodies of the two sisters, aged 13 and 11, and their seven-year-old brother. The family belongs to Maujpur village near Landran in Mohali district, police said.

According to police and eyewitnesses, the family arrived at the Bhakra canal branch near Mandoli village on a motorcycle. Eyewitnesses alleged that the couple first threw the three children into the canal and then jumped in...