- The three children were playing by themselves in China on September 13
- One of them fell into the river and the other two appeared to try to save them
- They were found dead when the adults realised they had gone missing
Three young children from the same family were drowned in the space of 30 seconds in a Chinese village last week.
The accident occurred as one of them fell into a river and the two others apparently tried to rescue them, according to a social media post from People’s Daily Online.
Two of the three children, both girls, were siblings and aged three and four; and the other one, a boy, was their cousin.
The boy was initially said to be two years old, but according a local official, he was confirmed to be three years old.
The three children had already been dead when the adults went out to find them in China
The accident reportedly took place in the Liushashangtang Village, Puning County, Guangdong Province on September 13.
Security footage emerged online captured the last moments of the three children, who were unattended as they played by themselves near the water’s edge.
According to a spokesperson of the Puning Press Office, the three children came from the same family. The two girls were siblings, and the boy was their cousin, according to Southern China Metropolis Daily.
The three children, aged three, three and four, were left unattended while playing by a pond
It is said that when the adults found the bodies of the children, they had all been dead.
The spokesperson said: ‘This is an accident caused by the negligence of the adults.’
The spokesperson also called the public in the area to take better care of their children as ‘there are many rivers and streams like this one here’.
The three children’s identities are yet to be revealed. It also remains unclear which one of the three fell into the river first.
Further investigation is being carried out by the local authority.