The bodies have been sent for an autopsy, the police said (Representational)
Two children drowned today in a water-filled pit dug for a sewage plant in Madhya Pradesh's Katni district, the police said. The two - Krishna Bain (8) and Riya Bain (9) - were cousins, they said.
"The children had stepped out of the house in the morning to play. But when they did not return home for over two hours, the family members began looking for them in the nearby areas and found their footwear near the open pit," the police told news agency PTI.
After that, the police were alerted. The fire brigade and the local civic body workers recovered the bodies after searching for four hours.
According to the local residents, the pit was 40 to 50 feet deep, the police said.
The bodies have been sent for an autopsy, they said.
The incident led to protests by locals who pointed out that the open pit is a danger to their lives. They also demanded action against the company hired by the civic body for the sewage plant.
Investigation into the incident is underway, the police said, adding that no case has been registered against the company so far.