Going to clean up the river, 11 middle school students drown

Eleven students have drowned, and another ten have been saved during a river-clearing action in Indonesia's West Java, officials said on Saturday.

Local officials said 150 Islamic high school students were participating Friday in the action to clear the river “Cileeur”, when 21 of them slipped into the water, writes Fox News.

There were no floods. Those kids who were flooded were holding hands. One of them slipped and the others fell behind him”, said Deden Ridwanseyah, director of the Rescue Research Office in Bandung.

Local residents and a rescue team managed to rescue ten students who were sent to a nearby hospital.

Clearly, students had no vests against drowning in the water. According to some reports, students were trying to cross the river.

In contrast, resurfaces cause frequent landslides and floods in Indonesia, where millions live in mountainous areas or near flood - prone areas.

In February 2020, at least six students died of flooding. They drowned in a river in Sleman district of Yogykarta province.