A weekend picnic turned out to be a tragedy for a family in Oman on Friday afternoon when three of their young children drowned in an artificial lake, according to the Royal Omani Police, cited by Gulf News on Monday.
A family from Suwaiq traveled to Naseem Park in Birka on the outskirts of the capital Muscat with their family friends to enjoy the weather. According to the police, the three children strayed away from the place where their parents and other family members had formed a camp.
The youngest of the three fell in the artificial lake in the park. Two older siblings jumped in vain to save their brother and drowned in the pond.
The children were pulled out of the pond by several visitors before the police arrived and rushed to Birka Health Center where they were pronounced dead upon arrival. The youngest was eight and the other two were 11 and 12 years old.
A municipality official blamed the parents for negligence, which caused this tragedy, adding that this was the first time such a tragedy had taken place in the park. (Albawaba.com)
