Eleven students drowned while cleaning a river in Indonesia

One slipped and the other was dragged into the water, rescuing 10 other students

JAKARTA: Eleven schoolchildren drowned after their feet slipped while cleaning a river in Indonesia's West Java province, while 10 others were rescued.

150 tourist-students of the Islamic Junior High School here joined the clean-up operation on the banks of the Silauur River on Friday. Of these, 21 students slipped and fell into the river.

The weather was good and there was no risk of flooding. The drowned students held each other's hands. As a result, one student drowned and all the others were dragged behind him.

However, nearby civilians and rescue teams reached the spot and rescued 10 of the 21 drowning students. This was stated by the head of the Bandung Search and Research Office, Deden Ridvansyah. The students did not wear any swimming equipment. According to some reports, the students drowned while crossing the river.