Society

5 children drowned in East China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-27 20:19

HEFEI - Five children drowned in a river in East China's Anhui province Tuesday afternoon, local authorities said Wednesday.

The five boys were killed when they were playing by the Pihe River with another four children in the town of Matou in Jin'an district of Lu'an city at about 1:00 pm Tuesday, said Du Jikun, an official with the district's publicity department.

The children are sixth-graders at the Chentai Primary School in Matou.

A boy fell into the river and another four boys tried to rescue him. However, all the five were swept away by the river's swift current, said Du.

After receiving word of accident, the local government rushed to the site to drag the river for the five missing boys. All the five victims' bodies were recovered by 5 pm Tuesday afternoon.

Du said the area where the accident occurred was very deep and often had fast-moving currents. This made it dangerous for adults, let alone children.

The parents of the five drowned boys hurried back to their hometown on Tuesday night, as they are migrant workers living away from home, Du said. The five boys normally lived with their grandparents.