Seven members of a family on a holiday outing in southern China drowned when a 17-year-old girl fell into a reservoir and several relatives jumped in while trying to rescue her.

None of the relatives were strong swimmers but tried to rescue the girl nonetheless when she fell in while washing her hands yesterday, the Guangdong province city of Shantou.

A city official, who gave only his surname, Wu, said the girl and six of her relatives died, including her parents and two other children, aged 13 and 15.

The girl fell into the reservoir while washing up after a grave-side ceremony honouring deceased relatives on China's annual Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday.

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