Rourkela/Berhampur: A total of seven children drowned in separate incidents in Odisha on Wednesday, with four deaths occurring during Ganesh idol immersion and three while bathing in a river.Three girls drowned while bathing in Sankh river under Raiboga police limits in Sundargarh district on Wednesday morning.According to police, Sibika Sahu (7), Gitika Sahu (6) and Shruti Kumari (9), all residents of Majhatoli village under Salangabahal panchayat, went to the river around 8.30 am along with their friend Pratap Sahu (9) to take a bath. While bathing, the girls reportedly slipped into deep water and went missing. Pratap raised an alarm, prompting villagers living nearby to rush to the spot. They pulled the girls out of the river and informed police.The children were first taken to Jambahal primary health centre. As no doctor was available there, they were shifted to Birmitrapur community health centre, where doctors declared them brought dead.Raiboga police reached the hospital and launched an investigation. The bodies have been sent for postmortem. “We have registered an unnatural death case and are investigating the circumstances leading to the incident. The bodies will be handed over to the families after the inquest and postmortem,” said Dibya Oram, inspector in charge of Raiboga police station.Meanwhile, four teenagers drowned during Ganesh idol immersions in Ganjam and Bhadrak districts.In Ganjam, three school students drowned during Ganesh idol immersion in two separate incidents. Class IX students Adarsh Sahu and Preetam Sameli (both 14) drowned in Ghodahada river in Hinjili, while Sitanshu Jena (13), a Class VIII student, drowned in a village pond at Sidhakhandi under Digapahandi police station limits.Adarsh and Preetam were part of a group of students who had gone for idol immersion. During the ceremony, the two reportedly slipped into deep water. Fire services personnel later rescued them and shifted them to the sub-divisional hospital in Hinjili, where doctors declared them dead.According to police, Sitanshu had gone to the pond with fellow students from his coaching centre to immerse a Ganesh idol when he slipped into deep water. Villagers rescued him and rushed him to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur, where doctors declared him dead.The bodies were handed over to the families after postmortem examinations.Meanwhile, another tragedy struck during the immersion of a Lord Ganesh idol at a school in Digachia under Chandbali block of Bhadrak district, when a 15-year-old Class XI student drowned.