Ayodhya, Jul 9 (PTI) Six members of a family drowned in the Saryu river in this holy town of Uttar Pradesh Friday, swept away by its strong currents one by one as they tried to save each other, officials and witnesses said.

The tragedy struck the visiting Agra family when its 15 members were taking a dip in the river at the Guptaar Ghat, they said. The deceased include two men, three women and a four-year-old girl.

District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha said while six of them have been rescued, three are still missing and a search operation has been launched to find them.

Describing how the incident unfolded, witnesses said it started when some of the bathing family members slipped in the water as there was no barricaded chains to warn them.

Others of the group tried to rescue them but they too lost control as the strong water currents swept them away, the witnesses said.

They also said that locals jumped to the rescue them and managed to pull out six members. They were later joined by the flood company jawans of Provincial Armed Constabulary.

Ayodhya District Hospital's Chief Medical Superintendent Dr CNB Tripathi said six bodies have been brought to the facility so far.

The deceased have been identified as Raj Kumari (60), Lalit (40), Sita (35), Pankaj (25) Shruti (20) and Drishti (4).

Those missing are Julee (35), Priyanshi (16) and Sarthak (10).

They are residents of A Block in the Shastri Puram area of Agra's Sikandra police station.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed senior officials to reach the spot and supervise the rescue operations.

The CM has also directed to take the help of sea-divers, police and provincial armed constabulary (PAC) to conduct the rescue operations.

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