18-Month-Old Twins Drown as Stroller Rolls into Arizona Canal While Mom Tries to Fend Off Bee

Two 18-month-old twin boys drowned in an Arizona canal last week after their mom let go of their stroller as she tried to fend off a bee.

The police in Yuma, Arizona, identifed the victims as Silas and Eli Keslar, who were pronounced dead at the Yuma Medical Center.

According to the police, the boys were being pushed in a jogging stroller by their mom, Alexis Keslar, along a canal in Yuma on Friday morning last week.

The mom stopped briefly to fend off a bee, unwittingly losing her grip on the stroller that rolled away and fell into the canal.

Keslar tried to rescue her sons but because of the speed and current of the water and the steep incline of the sides of the canal, she failed.

The stroller was washed away and Keslar immediately called for help after getting herself out of the canal.

Emergency personnel arrived on the scene, the police said, and the irrigation district that manages the canal helped by slowing down the flow of water and reducing the water level that aided rescuers in locating and retrieving the boys.

The twins were found after more than an hour and were flown to the hospital by a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter.

A GoFundMe campaign set up for the Keslars by family friend Marlene Gleim raised more than $27,000.

"The numerous canals in the Yuma area are commonly used by community members to walk, jog, and bicycle along year round," the Yuma police said. "These canals typically appear smooth with an obvious current. Many people typically do not comprehend how swift the current in these canals are and how deep the water can be. They also do not realize how difficult it is to climb back up many of the canal embankments."

It added, "The Yuma Police Department encourages everyone to use caution around canals to avoid tragic events such as this."