Three children died after drowning in a lake

A dramatic accident. Three children drowned this Sunday in a lake near Saint-Jean, Chalon, Saone-et-Loire. The three siblings, a 9-year-old girl and two boys aged 10 and 13, were transported to the Chalon hospital, the
department firefighters, but none of them survived.

The accident occurred near the recreation area, where swimming is prohibited. The siblings would have slipped into the water by wanting to refresh their legs, reports The newspaper Saône-et-Loire . The three children would then have sunk in this part of the lake where the water reaches 4.50 meters deep and a temperature of 10 ° C. The three brothers and sisters were rescued by firefighters. Initially taken to the scene of the accident, the children, found at a distance of five to six meters from the edge, were then evacuated to the hospital center of the city, according to the rescue.

seven firefighters were mobilized, including nine divers and a water rescuer. The helpers tried to revive the children who had spent about an hour in the water, they said.

The children lost their footing

The parquet of Chalon-sur-Saône did not wish to communicate in the immediate, indicating that an investigation was under way on the circumstances of the tragedy. According to a source close to the survey, the two youngest children were allowed to bathe in the lake at around 7 pm while it was still warm, before losing their footing because of the steep slope.

The third then tried to help them, losing ground in turn, according to the same source. The three children died Sunday night, we learned from the prefecture. The bodies of the three children must be transported to Dijon University Hospital for autopsy

A psychological unit was set up by the hospital staff to support the relatives of the victims.