Three girls and a boy died and two other children were injured on Monday in a mudslide near a drain here, police said.
Seven children, aged between seven and 12 years, had gone near the nullah to dig out yellow mud to colour homes for Diwali, Bhopal Zone-2 Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rajesh Singh Badhoriya said.
Six of them were extracting mud when loose soil caved in, trapping them, Badhoriya said.
On seeing the mudslide, the seventh boy ran to a village nearby and informed people who in turn called the police, the ASP said.
The children were pulled out from the heap of mud and taken to hospital but four of them died, he said.
“The incident happened in Barkhedi village in the Sukhi Sewaniya area, 22km from the district headquarters.
Three girls and a boy died en route to Hamadia Hospital, while two children were admitted there with injuries,” he said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the incident and announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased.