A mother in her 40s and her 3-year-old son died Saturday after being swept away by waves at a beach in Jindo, South Jeolla Province.
The woman's two other children survived.
According to the Korea Coast Guard and local media reports Sunday, the accident occurred at 1:51 p.m. near Jindo’s Mysterious Sea Road, a popular tourist attraction where the sea recedes to expose a path to an offshore island and later submerges it again. The tide was receding at the time, after reaching high tide at 11:41 a.m.
The mother had been watching her children from the shore. None of them was wearing a life jacket. As the children drifted farther from the beach, she entered the water to try to rescue them.
Her 6-year-old daughter managed to get out of the water on her own and called for help. Her 8-year-old brother was rescued after holding onto ropes at a nearby fish farm.
The mother and her youngest child were taken to a nearby hospital in cardiac arrest but were pronounced dead.
Investigators are reviewing nearby surveillance footage to determine the exact circumstances.
The beach is not designated for swimming, although tourists often enter the water there, according to officials.
limdoyun0603@heraldcorp.com
