As many as 14 children, most of them working as child labourers in private industries, have been rescued in Karur district. Of them, three are girls below 17 years of age. They were rescued when a team of police, labour welfare, social welfare department officials and NGO representatives carried out an intensive drive in the district to locate missing children as part of Operation Smile-II. The children met the Collector T.P. Rajesh on Thursday. He interacted with them to get inputs on factors that led them to factories. Later, they were reunited with their parents.