VARANASI, Oct. 20 -- Three girls drowned in the Ganga river on Sunday after accidentally slipping into deep water while bathing at Lilapur Amwaghat, under the Karanda police station area in Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh, police said. The victims were identified as Poonam Yadav, 18, Roli Yadav, 16, and Khushi Yadav, 14, all residents of Ramjanpur village, according to a police officer. Upon receiving the information, a police team reached the spot and launched a search operation. Later, their bodies were recovered and sent for postmortem. Karanda police station in-charge Shailendra Singh said that a group of seven girls had gone to bathe in the Ganga along with other women and girls from the village. During the bathing, three of them slipped into deep water and drowned. Local divers are assisting police in the ongoing search effort. The incident occurred as Diwali preparations were underway at the victims' homes. The girls were expected to participate in Chhoti Diwali puja after bathing in the river.htc...