Two British brothers have drowned while on holiday at an outdoor swimming pool in Germany.
The two children, aged 7 and 9, were reported missing by their parents in a designated swimming area at Lake Isebach, south of Aachen, according to authorities.
Rescuers rescued the children from the water and they were taken to hospitals in Aachen and Cologne, but later died.
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Aachen prosecutors said they were investigating whether the deaths were caused by negligence.
Emergency services first received the call at 5:59 p.m. on Thursday and immediately dispatched several response vehicles to the scene, local media reported.
Soon after, teams of experts from the German Technical Rescue Agency (THW) and DLRG (German Lifesaving Organization) followed suit.
One of the boys was reportedly taken to the emergency room in Cologne and the other in Aachen in a critical condition, but died later that night.
The lake south of the city of Aachen, where the incident took place, was popular with tourists on Thursday.
Germany has experienced warm temperatures around 31 degrees Celsius this week, which has resulted in even busier than usual swimming areas.
It has been hotter than usual in Europe this summer as both the UK and France face wildfires, drought and water mains bans.
The tragedy came a month after reports of a 16-year-old and a 10-year-old had trouble trying to swim in the same waters. First responders were said to be able to rescue the young child, but unfortunately the teenager drowned.
independent The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been contacted for comment.
