Four children drowned while bathing in a pond in the Kotki area of Hangu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rescue officials said on Sunday.

According to rescue sources, five children were swimming in the pond when they got into difficulty.

Four of them drowned, while one child was rescued alive.

Rescue 1122 personnel rushed to the scene after receiving reports of the incident and recovered the children from the pond and shifted them to a hospital.

Officials said the deceased children were between five and eight years old. Two of the victims were brothers.

Rescue authorities added that all of the children involved in the incident, including the survivor, were Afghan refugees.

An investigation into the incident is underway.