Thirteen children on their way to school drowned when a packed three-wheeler careened off a highway and fell into an irrigation canal at Jhumka in Sunsari District on Tuesday morning.

All the children were from Jhumka and were on their way to Moonlight Unique Secondary School which was only 150 m from the school. Nine other children were rescued.

"All my friends have gone to god's house," said one eight-year-old pupil who survived the accident. Many of the children couldn't swim and drowned while crying for help. The village of Jhumka is in deep mourning.