Four students, including two sisters, went missing while bathing in the Bhagirathi river at two different places in Murshidabad on Monday.

Sources said police started a search operation in the river with the help of two divers but there was no trace of them till the evening.

“Four students went missing in the river after all of them went to take a bath on Monday morning. Despite a search of hours with the help of the divers, we are yet to trace them. The search operation is on,” said Subimal Paul, Murshidabad additional superintendent of police.

The first incident took place in the Khagra area of Behrampore town where two college students Anindya Mondal, 22, and Pritam Singha, 19, lost control and fell in the river in front of three of their friends.

“The five of us went to take a bath in the river. Anindya and Pritam were swimming and advanced a few feet in the river from the bank when a huge current took them away. We tried to save them but failed,” said a student.

In another incident, two sisters Mahfuza Khatun, 17, and Nisha Khatun, 16, went missing in the river while they went to take their bath on Monday morning at Dafarpur ferry ghat in Raghunathganj.

A family member said the sisters were visiting Raghunathganj for the marriage ceremony of their maternal uncle.

Mahfuza and Nisha studied in Classes XII and XI, respectively, l in Lalgola.

Body recovered

Police on Monday recovered the body of a Class XI student of Kalna Ambika Mahismardini High School who went missing in the Bhagirathi at the Military ferry ghat in East Burdwan’s Kalna on Sunday. Ankan Saha, 15, was a resident of Jogipara area in Kalna.

Meanwhile, a college student Nisha De, 19, has been reported missing in the Bhagirathi in Kalna. She went there to take bath on Monday morning.

The police said a search operation was on.