Residents gather at the home of one of the families of the victims in the drowning incident on Tuesday afternoon in Quảng Bình Province's Quảng Trạch District. — Photo vov.vn

QUẢNH BÌNH — Three children aged five to seven were found dead on Tuesday afternoon in a local river in the central province of Quảng Bình.

A group of four children went swimming in the river in Quảng Đông Commune, Quảng Trạch District at around 3pm, according to the local People’s Committee.

One of them returned home but the three others continued swimming and, unfortunately, they drowned.

Later in the afternoon, their families were searching for the children and found their bodies in the water.

The local government provided each victim's family with VNĐ2 million (US$85) in support.

On Monday, a four-year-old boy also drowned in Tuyên Hóa District.

In May, five young girls, all 12 years old, drowned while swimming in a river in the province.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has said the number of children who die by drowning in Việt Nam is 10 times higher than in other developing countries. Drowning claims the lives of more than 2,000 children each year in Việt Nam. — VNS