Family of 7 drowns to death trying to save daughter from reservoir near family tomb

Qingming Festival, the annual observance that sees families nationwide travel to their ancestors' resting places to tend to their graves, became a nightmare for the living yesterday in Shantou, Guangdong Province.

A family of seven - including both parents, two children aged 13 and 15 as well as more distant relatives - all drowned to death in a reservoir adjacent to the family tomb plot after the family's 17-year-old daughter slipped into the reservoir as she washed her hands. One after another, all of the family jumped into the water to rescue her - and then one another.

Unfortunately, none of them knew how to swim.

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children aged 5-14 in China. Some 12,000 children drowned throughout the country last year, nearly twice as many as died in car accidents. It is also one of the top causes of death for infants and is the fourth leading cause of death for those aged 15-29.

Many parents choose not to teach their children how to swim because they regard it as an unsafe pastime. As this tragic story illustrates, however, sinking is a whole lot more dangerous than swimming.

[Image via CNHubei]