North Lakhimpur, July 28 -- Two pre-teen girls drowned while bathing in a pond at Daulatpur village under Bangalmora Police Outpost in Assam's Lakhimpur district on Tuesday morning.

The victims were identified as Nazia Sultana and Sahina Sultana. The incident occurred around 10.30 am when the two girls reportedly entered the pond for a bath and accidentally drowned.

Villagers launched a search operation after the incident and alerted the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). However, residents alleged that the rescue team reached the spot late and continued the search on their own.

Using fishing nets, villagers recovered the bodies from the pond before the rescue team could retrieve them.

The incident triggered grief in the village an...