Five Children Drown in Philippines River

Five children drowned in a river in the northern Philippines during a family outing, police said on Wednesday.

The victims, aged 11 to 14, were on a picnic near the river in Bugallon town in Pangasinan province, 169km north of Manila, when the accident happened.

The parents did not know how to swim so when the children started shouting for help, they had to go find assistance, local police chief Dominic Tobleto said.

The bodies of the children were recovered hours later, he said.

The victims’ parents told investigators they did not know that the river was deep, Tobleto said.