Rajkot: An outing to a shrine to offer prayers on a birthday turned into an unimaginable tragedy on Sunday when four members of a family, including three children, drowned in Falaku Dam near Vidiwala Pir Shrine on the Bedi-Hadmatiya road in Rajkot district.The deceased were identified as Sohan Shora (11), whose birthday was to be celebrated; his brother Shefan alias Saifu Shora (7); their cousin Alifa Shora (9); and their uncle Sahil Shora (17).They had gathered with their families at the shrine for prayers and a shared lunch to mark Sohan’s birthday, police said. But as the adults turned their attention elsewhere after the meal, the children wandered toward the water’s edge to play.Sohan was the first to slip into danger, pulled by the current into deeper water. In a chain of events, the other three rushed in to save him — first Shefan, then Alifa and then Sahil, but the water pulled them under too. What started as a bid to save a sibling ended in a shared tragedy that no family should ever have to bear.Alerted by cries from the scene, local residents rushed to the dam and pulled all four children from the water, rushing them unconscious to Rajkot Civil Hospital and Janana Hospital. Despite every effort, doctors were unable to revive them, and all four were declared dead on arrival.Rajkot Taluka Panchayat member Bharat Dabhi, speaking to the media, said that Sohan and Shefan were sons of Sajid and Suhana, from Khodiyarnagar where Sajid runs a shop near Punitna Tanka. Sahil and Alifa hailed from old Ronki village.Following the incident, a team from Kuvada Road police initiated the required legal procedures. An investigation into the incident was launched.
