Beijing: Eight primary school children in southwest China have drowned after one fell into a river and others jumped in to save their friend, authorities said on Monday.

The incident happened in China’s Chongqing Municipality.

According to the district publicity department, the students fell into the river in the village of Tongjia in Tongnan District at around 3:30 pm on Sunday.

Initial investigations revealed that the victims were students of a local primary school. They were playing by the river when one of them fell into the water. The rest of the students jumped in an attempt to save the victim, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The bodies have been retrieved by the rescuers, the report said.

Press Trust of India