A woman in her 40s and a 3-year-old child died after a family of four fell into the water near the coast by the Mysterious Sea Road in Uisin-myeon, Jindo-gun, South Jeolla Province. [South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Fire Department]
A woman in her 40s and a 3-year-old child died after a family of four fell into the water near the coast by the Mysterious Sea Road in Uisin-myeon, Jindo-gun, South Jeolla Province. [South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Fire Department]

A mother and her 3-year-old son died Saturday after a family of four fell into the sea off Jindo-gun in South Jeolla Province, despite being rescued.

The incident occurred at around 1:51 p.m. Saturday, when the family was swimming near a small beach by the Mysterious Sea Road in Uisin-myeon, Jindo-gun, according to Yonhap.

The mother, identified only by her surname and believed to be in her 40s, and her 3-year-old son were found in cardiac arrest and rushed to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Her 8-year-old son survived by clinging to an aquaculture rope in the water until rescuers reached him; he was taken to a hospital showing signs of hypothermia. Her 6-year-old daughter managed to get out of the water on her own and alerted bystanders that the rest of her family had not come out.

Coast guard officials reviewed nearby closed-circuit television footage and found that the mother had been watching her three children play in the water from the beach. The children were not wearing life jackets at the time.

Investigators believe the mother entered the water after the children drifted farther from shore and was caught in the same accident while trying to save them.

The beach is not a designated swimming area but is a small stretch of coastline where tourists occasionally swim, officials said.

At the time of the accident, the tide had been receding since high tide at around 11:41 a.m. Coast guard officials believe the family was swept by the outgoing tide and are investigating the exact circumstances of the incident.

Mother enters water to save three children


betterj@heraldcorp.com