The three are aged between six months and four years and local divers have been pressed into service to rescue them, Bidhupur police station officer in-charge Ritesh Mandal said.
The country boat with 20 passengers on board and over 100 sacks of fertiliser loaded on it was on way to Gokulpur from Khalsa ghat at Bidhupur when the boat capsized before reaching its destination,
The parents of the three children and others in the boat swam to safety.