The two children slipped out with their third triplet and older sibling while their parents were napping at home in Greven in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia
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The boy and girl ran across this road with their two siblings before finding the pond (Image: CEN)
Two triplets have tragically drowned in their neighbour's garden after they mistook a fish pond for a paddling pool.
The boy and girl reportedly ran across the street with the third triplet and their older sibling while their parents napped.
Two of the children drowned in the pond in the summer's day tragedy in the town of Greven, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The two-year-olds' parents were said to have been resting when they ran across the street with the third triplet and the siblings' older sister on Thursday afternoon.
The four children made their way across the road and found the neighbour's garden's goldfish pond.
The house where the children drowned
(Image: CEN)
The children reportedly mistook it for a paddling pool like the one they had on their balcony.
The neighbour discovered the siblings' lifeless bodies in the water at 4.15pm.
They alerted emergency services who arrived on the scene and immediately started resuscitation procedures, but were ultimately unable to save the toddlers.
The young children, a boy and a girl, were taken to the University Hospital in the nearby city of Munster in a critical condition.
The boy died first, followed by his sister, according to the public prosecutor.
Police investigating the incident determined that no duty of care had been violated, labelling the siblings' deaths a tragic accident.
The neighbour, as well as the young children's family, are in a state of shock and being treated by experts, reports said.
Local media did not name the family, but described them as originally coming from Albania.
A relative told German newspaper Bild: "The children were used to the water, always playing in the paddling pool on the balcony.
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"So they thought the pond was a pool and thought they could bathe in it. They drowned."
According to German network NDTV, authorities said in 2017, sixteen people died in garden ponds, private pools, paddling pools or streams.
Authorities in the country warned private garden ponds should be built with safety precautions to keep children out.
Officials recommended gates and crossings over ponds should be secured so that children cannot get into the water.
Sourse: www.mirror.co.uk
