National steeplechase athlete Pooja Kumari has drowned after she accidentally fell in a pond while clicking selfies with her friends on the campus of the Sports Authority of India near Bhopal, police said on Sunday.

"After regular practice session, three girls, including national steeplechase athlete Pooja, went near a pond to take selfie on Saturday evening," a police spokesperson said.

He said while 20-year-old Pooja started screaming for help as she did not know swimming, her friends ran toward the SAI hostel and rushed back with other people.

"Pooja was pulled out from pond and rushed to Chirayu Hospital where she was declared brought dead," he said.

Her body was sent for postmortem to a nearby hospital.

Pooja, who hails from Kashipur city in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand, had been undergoing training at the SAI facility for the last two years.