Two children were killed when a boat transporting students of the Southern Musuria Seventh-day Adventist school sank. Twenty other students survived, officials report.

The accident occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 24. After three days, searchers found the bodies of the young victims, ages 8 and 10. The cause of the accident is unknown.

The teacher who piloted the craft left the village after residents attacked him.

Local church leaders went to the nearby village, to visit the homes of the victims and to meet with the local authorities. They are also working to provide assistance to the bereaved families. Adventist Pastor Daniel Baidya, a relative of one victim, conducted funeral services for both children, one an Adventist and one a Hindu.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Bangladesh, with a membership of 21,545, operates one college, five boarding academies, and 243 elementary schools. More than 6,000 financially disadvantaged children have access to Christian education through Bangladesh Children's Sponsorship Services, a subsidiary branch of the Adventist Church in Bangladesh. [Editor: Siegfried G. Mayr for ANN/APD]