ARA, Oct. 18 -- Four boys, including three minors, drowned in the Sone river near Tirthakaul under Sandesh police station in Bhojpur district on Saturday after the boat they boarded became imbalanced, district officials said. Among the deceased, two were siblings and one was their cousin. The fourth deceased drowned while trying to save the other three, officials and locals said. Ara Sadar SDPO-1 Sushil Kumar said that three boys had gone to bathe in the river and met with an accident. A local spotted them drowning and jumped in to save them, but sadly, he also drowned. Kumar added that the incident took place in the Sone river near Tirthakaul under Sandesh police station. On receiving the news, BDO Binesh Kumar, CO Shammi Kumar, and Inspector Sanjeev Kumar also arrived at the spot. Police administration launched a search for the boys. The SDRF team recovered all four bodies and they were sent to Ara sadar hospital for the post-mortem, the police said. Locals who witnessed the boys drowning said the accident occurred around 10 am when the deceased were enjoying a ride on a small boat in the Sone River after bathing. It is said that the boys, numbering around five, started frolicking in the boat, which caused it to lose balance and nearly overturn; the boys then jumped into the river. They struggled to swim and began drowning. A local, identified as Sudhir Kumar, jumped in to rescue them, but all four drowned, a local said. One boy managed to swim ashore safely, he added. The deceased boys were identified as 15-year-old Akash Kumar, son of Vinod Kumar, a resident of Tirthakaul village, 10-year-old Prem Kumar and 16-year-old Siddhant Kumar, sons of Mintu Sharma; and 25-year-old Sudhir Kumar, also from the same village. Prem Kumar and Siddhant Kumar were siblings , while Akash was their cousin Meanwhile, chief minister Samrat Choudhary condoled the deaths and announced an ex-gratia of Rs.4 lakh each to the families of the bereaved....