Five students of a middle school in south China's Guangdong province drowned when one of them accidentally fell into a river and the others tried to rescue him, officials said Sunday.
Eight students from the Luoyang No.1 Middle School in Boluo county of Huizhou City had organised a barbecue on the banks of the Dongjiang river Saturday, Xinhua reported.
Police said one of them accidentally fell into the river. Four other students linked hands and attempted to reach the drowning pupil, but fell into the water too.
All five drowned and their bodies were retrieved by 10 p.m..