Palakkad (Keralam) | Two children drowned after accidentally falling into a pond near their house at Pappadapadi in Thiruvegapura here, police said on Thursday.

The deceased were identified as Fathima Zahra (5), daughter of Shihab Musliyar, and Muhammed Hayan, the two-and-a-half-year-old son of Shihab's brother Shoukat.

The incident occurred on Wednesday when the children were playing in the courtyard of their house, police said.

According to police, the children went missing from the courtyard while playing. They were later found in a nearby pond near the house, police said.

The girl had died by the time she was pulled out of the pond, while Hayan was rescued in a critical condition and rushed to a hospital in Perinthalmanna, where he was placed on a ventilator, police said.

However, the boy died on Thursday morning, officials said.

Koppam police registered a case of unnatural death and started an investigation.