Five children drown while playing in east China river

Five children drown while playing in east China river

2011-04-27 23:51:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

HEFEI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Five children drowned while playing in a river in eastern China on Tuesday afternoon, state-run media reported on Wednesday.

The accident happened at around 1 p.m. local time on Tuesday when a group of children was playing by the Pihe River in the town of Matou in Jin'an District of Lu'an City in Anhui Province.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, one of the five boys fell into the river after which the four others jumped in too in an attempt to save him. However, all five were swept away by the river's swift current and drowned.

After receiving word of the accident, emergency workers rushed to the scene in an attempt to recover the boys but their bodies were not found until 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

Du Jikun, an official with the district's publicity department, told Xinhua that the area where the accident occurred is very deep and often has fast-moving currents. This makes it a dangerous place for adults, and especially for children.

The children, whose exact ages were not immediately released, are sixth-graders at the Chentai Primary School in Matou.

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