Sisters Do Thi Thu Hoa, 11, and Do Thi Chung Thuy, 10, and their two friends Do Thi Hien, 11, and Do Thi Thu Phuong, 10, were wandering around the site of a bridge and tunnel construction project in Thanh Xuan Commune, Soc Son District, when they discovered the pool of water.
Hoa, Thuy and Phuong jumped in while Hien did not.
When her three friends appeared to drown, Hien rushed to the commune to report to locals who called rescuers to the scene, but the girls were dead by then.
The pit was deep and Hien said none of the three could swim.
There is a warning sign near the pit which is also surrounded by a fence, but there had been no security guards on duty at the time of the accident, local authorities said.
The girls’ bodies were buried by their families yesterday evening and police are investigating the accident.
The scene where the three children drowned yesterday (Photo: An Ninh Thu Do)
The funeral of the three ill-fated children (Photo: An Ninh Thu Do)
A similar tragedy had occurred in Hanoi on August 14 when four boys aged 11 to 14 died after jumping into an unfenced pit filled with rain water at a construction site in Phu Do Village in Me Tri Commune.
There had been no warning sign at the site, local authorities said.