Two British boys have drowned after swimming in a lake in Germany.
The brothers, aged seven and nine, were reported missing by their parents at a designated swimming area on the Eiserbach lake south of Aachen.
They were found by emergency services in the water on Thursday evening.
Rescuers were able to retrieve the children from the water and they were taken to hospitals in Aachen and Cologne, but later died.
Local police have been unable to say why the accident happened and the public prosecutor's office is currently examining whether there is a suspicion of a criminal offence, the Mirror reports.
The deaths come after a 16-year-old also recently died at the same location.
From January to July, 30 people drowned in North Rhine-Westphalia, where the lake is located, which is 14 more than in the first seven months of the previous year.
According to the German Life Saving Society (DLRG), 14 people drowned in rivers, ten in lakes and two in a canal. The other victims died in a stream, in a pool, in a swimming pool or in a pond.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been approached for comment.
READ NEXT:
- Drugs baron ran business behind bars while partner in crime lived luxury lifestyle - seven people have been jailed
-
Tributes paid to 'popular' firefighter Daniel Lee after body found in River Irwell
-
Murder investigation launched after woman in her 20s discovered dead in flat as man, 51, arrested
-
Forgotten burger chain tucked inside train stations in the 1980s
-
The new food hall and live venue made ‘with love’ that’s breathing life into an ‘iconic building’
