Toddler and baby drown in river

Toddler and baby drown in river

ALEKSINAC -- Two children are believed to have drowned on Wednesday in a village near the town of Aleksinac in southeastern Serbia, the police have said.

The accident happened in the village of Bankovac. The police and firefighters are searching for the bodies of the victims who perished in the Turija River, a spokeswoman for the police in Niš said.

B92 learned that the police received a report that the mother of the children took them for a walk along the river, and that one of the victims, a three-year-old girl, fell into the high water.

According to this, the mother then tried to rescue the child while carrying the other, a one-year-old baby, in her arms, but slipped and dropped the baby.

Both children then disappeared in the river. A passer-by managed to rescue the woman.

Aleksinac is one of the municipalities where a state of emergency was declared two days ago due to the flooding.