Fukuoka: Two elementary school girls died Friday by drowning in a river in the city of Miyawaka in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, while another girl is in a life-threatening condition.

Around 12:55 p.m., the Fukuoka police received an emergency call from a girl saying her friends were not coming up from the Inunaki River.

According to a local police station, three elementary school girls were rescued from the river about 35 minutes later. Two of them have been confirmed dead at hospital, however, and the other is unconscious and in a critical state.

The incident occurred at a point where the Inunaki River meets another river, according to the police. The three girls are believed to have been playing in the river with the girl who called the police.

JIJI Press