``My world is shattered'', whispered Yunusbhai Multani, a welder in Baroda Dairy and father of Zakir and Rafiq, both of whom died yesterday. ``I pray to Allah to give me the strength to tolerate the loss of my two sons.'' Helping him in the healing process will be his three daughters.

In retrospect, it seems they had a date with death in different forms. The mishap occurred while the boys were on their way back from a funeral of a one-year-old girl of the locality; their bodies will now rest next to hers in the Akota graveyard.

Just the day before, they had observed the first death anniversary of their grandfather. Fifteen-year-old Zakir, who studied in Standard VII of the Durat-Tarbiyat School in Dabhoi, in fact, was to return to school on Saturday morning. But he stayed back to see his sister off to Anand. And then, after the farewell, went off with his younger brother Rafiq to play their ill-fated game of cricket.

Umar Patel, grandfather of another victim, Saeed Yunusbhai Patel, said his 10-year-old grandson was very intelligent and studied in standard V of Unnati School. ``People, including children, frequently cross the railway tracks, but nothing like this has ever happened'', he said inconsolably.

``But Saturday proved to be a killer day... it claimed the four schoolchildren at one go, when they tried to cross over to the village after watching the swelling river'', he said, while his grief-stricken son Yunus, found it hard to say a word.

Babubhai Rajput, uncle of 10-year-old Alpesh, the fourth victim of the mishap, said Alpesh used to play everyday with children of the mohalla in the playground opposite Akota mosque. ``Nothing ever happened to him'', he said, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. ``Now God wished this to happen.''