Four out of six middle school students who went to play near a lake in Vietnam’s Central Highlands on Wednesday died, while the other two were hospitalized, when one of them slipped into the body of water.

Three of the students lost their lives when they were trying to save their drowning friend, who was also declared dead in the tragic incident in Tuy Duc District, Dak Nong Province, according to a local official.

After one student slipped into the lake, all of the other five rushed to grasp the child’s arm, but they were all pulled into the deep water, Nguyen Ngoc Long, chairman of Tuy Duc District, said.

Local people heard the shout for help of the students and managed to take all of them to the shore.

Relatives and friends of the students who fell into a lake in Dak Nong Province, Vietnam, on May 9, 2018, wait at a local hospital. Photo: Tuoi Tre

However, four of them, including the first to fall into the lake, were later declared dead.

The other two were hospitalized and were in stable conditions as of late Wednesday, Long added.

All of the deceased were eight-graders.

Drowning was the leading cause of unintentionally injury deaths amongst Vietnamese under 19, with 3,500 drowning fatalities every year, according to the information dated last year on the Ministry of Health’s website.

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