Twin toddlers drown in US canal after mother lets go of stroller to swat bee

Arizona: In a freak accident, 18-month-old twins drowned after their mother tried to fend off a bee and let go of their stroller, which rolled into a canal in the US state of Arizona, police said.

Alexis Keslar was walking with her twin sons, Silas and Eli Keslar, along a canal last Friday when she tried to repel a bee, police in Yuma said.

"The stroller rolled away from her into the canal, with the boys belted in the seat," police said yesterday.

Keslar went into the canal and tried to rescue her sons but was hampered by the steep sides of the canal, the depth of the water and the force of the current. The current washed the stroller away.

After Keslar got out of the canal, she called for help, CNN quoted police as saying. After more than an hour of searching, the toddlers were found and flown to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Authorities say the paths along Yuma canals are popular for joggers and bicyclists, but can be dangerous.