PHNOM PENH, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Four children drowned in a five-meter-deep dredging pit in southern Cambodia's Kandal province while looking for clams and snails, according to a provincial police report released on Wednesday.
The accident occurred in the late afternoon of Tuesday in Ang Snuol district when they got down into the water to search for clams and snails, the police said, adding that the victims included two girls and two boys, aged between 10 and 13 years old.
"After examining their bodies, the police concluded that they died of drowning," the report said.
Drownings happen often in Cambodia, especially in rural areas. On Nov. 12, three students, aged between 15 and 16 years old, drowned in a lake while a wooden boat they were riding for fun sank in southeastern Prey Veng province.
According to the World Health Organization, there were 1,113 drowning deaths in the Southeast Asian nation in 2019. ■
