Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
A three-year-old boy has drowned after wandering from a playground where he was with his nursery class to a nearby river and he was soon discovered face-down in the water.
According to local media, the unnamed youngster had gone on a visit to a playground in the town of Schwabisch Gmuend in the south-western German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg with his nursery classmates.
Reports said there were three carers monitoring 19 children on the day trip.
However, they failed to notice the three-year-old boy wandering off to the banks of the River Rems just a few metres away.
Staff began looking for the youngster as soon as they realised he was missing, but they found him when he was lying face-down in the river.
Reports said the boy was still alive when he was transported to hospital by ambulance, but died shortly after arriving.
The local police said the victim’s carers and classmates have been too distressed to talk about the incident yet.
Family members and nursery staff have reportedly been receiving psychological care to help them deal with the trauma.
The three carers were hospitalised with shock when they realised the boy had died, according to reports.
Klaus Arnholdt, who is responsible for sport and nursery schools at the local council, said: “We need a lot of time in order to work out what happened in this tragic event.”
An autopsy is due to be carried out on the boy today.
The nursery was reportedly open for business again this week after deciding it was best for the children to be together in a group and work through what happened rather than be left at home.
Picture Credit: CEN 
Picture Credit: CEN
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