Churachandpur, Manipur, March 20 (HBTV): In yet another tragic development coming in from Manipur, four internally displaced children who went missing after returning from their schools on Tuesday were fished out from Khuga River this morning at around 7:10. The incident has sent shock waves across the state.               

The incident happened in Manipur's Churachandpur district, which reportedly has a sizeable internally displaced population.      

Report says intensive search operations were conducted the entire night as family members waited for the missing children. However, it was only in the morning that volunteers found clothes and sandals of the missing children below Ebenezer Bridge of the Khuga river.                     

The team intensified their search in the area and extracted the bodies of the four minors at approximately 8:00 am.                           

At press time, it was being reported that the last rites of the four children would be performed at the KKL complex in Churachandpur and their bodies would be laid to rest at the KKL cemetery.           

The four children have been identified as nine-year-old Hathoithem Lupho/Lenchonghoi and her younger sibling six-year-old Lallenchung Lupho; five-year-old Thanggouhao; and five-year-old Thongkhohao Haokip. They were staying at S Canaan Veng KKL Relief Centre, reports said.     

Apparently, the children had gone to the river bank when their parents were 'absent'.   

Manipur has more than 60,000 internally displaced people who are staying at different relief camps across the state after ethnic violence broke out in May the previous year.