Picnic Turns to Tragedy as 2 Girls Drown

A weekend outing on the banks of the San Diego River turned into tragedy Sunday for a group of Cambodian immigrants as two young girls wandered off and drown in the placid, sun-dappled waters.

Bunson Un, 10, and Ol San, 8, were rushed to the hospital by paramedics, but both died by the time they arrived, authorities said.

The two girls were picnicking with their families at a spot along the meandering river, which is a popular fishing hole for Southeast Asian refugees who have made San Diego home, when the episode began to unfold at about 3 p.m., said Dave Cohen, a police spokesman.

Cohen said the pair apparently wandered off to explore and somehow fell into the river or slipped into a submerged hole while they were wading. At least one of the children did not know how to swim, he said.

After the girls did not turn up, their parents became concerned and set out to find the pair. They eventually discovered the children floating under water in a section of the river beneath the shadow of the sprawling Interstate 805 overpass, Cohen said.

The families quickly loaded the girls into a car and drove frantically about half a mile to an office building at 3131 Camino de la Reina, where a security guard telephoned paramedics.

When two emergency teams arrived, they found the parents attempting to resuscitate the children. The paramedics took over, but were unable to revive the two girls as they rushed them to Sharp Memorial Hospital, according to Rick Foehr, a paramedic supervisor with Hartson Medical Services.

A third emergency team was called to the scene when the pregnant mother of Ol San went into hysterics and then fainted from the shock of the ordeal, authorities said. The woman, whose name was not released, “did not appear to be in any jeopardy,” Cohen said.

Cohen said the girls’ families lived in the neighborhood straddling 52nd Street and University Avenue, an enclave for Southeast Asian refugees. Both of the children apparently had lived in the United States for at least five years, he said.

Authorities said it was unclear exactly how the girls were overcome by the waters, which flow slowly during summer months as the river winds along Mission Valley past San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium to the sea.

“The mud can be real treacherous under there,” Cohen said. “It’s possible they could have lost their footing, but I really don’t know what happened.”

He said the area is frequented by Southeast Asians, who find the green growth that lines the banks to be similar to the terrain of their homelands.

There are no signs anywhere along the banks warning against swimming or fishing, Cohen said. He said authorities will likely take steps today to get signs posted along the banks in an attempt to prevent a recurrence of such a tragedy.