An 11-year-old Maltese girl, Maria Stellini, from Birkirkara, has drowned in a river near Salzburg, according to reports in the Austrian media.

She was walking some distance away from her parents but was in contact with them via two-way radio, but suddenly contact was lost, newspapers reported.

The incident happened on Saturday.

The authorities first found an umbrella which the child had been carrying. The lifeless body was found a kilometre further downstream.

The Maltese Foreign Ministry said the Maltese embassy in Vienna is assisting the family, which had been on holiday in Austria. 

Young Maria is expected to be buried in Austria following her wish to live in that country, where she had hoped to work as an English language teacher.

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