WUHAN - Rescuers on Saturday retrieved the bodies of five teenagers from a river in Central China's Hubei Province, 19 hours after they went missing while swimming.

Workers try to find five missing teenagers who were later found drowned in a river in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, July 30, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

The tragedy happened when six people aged from 16 to 18 went for a swim Friday afternoon in the Jushui River in Xinzhou District of Wuhan, capital city of Hubei.

According to the only survivor, two of the teenagers slipped into a pit while walking in the shallow part of the river, and three others also vanished trying to save the two.

More than 200 policemen, firefighters and locals joined the rescue work after the survivor alerted local police.

Workers try to find five missing teenagers who were later found drowned in a river in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, July 30, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]