Two teenagers were drowned when skating on a lake in southwest China's Yunnan Province on Wednesday after the ice cracked and eight boys fell into freezing water.

Two others among the rescued are in critical condition.

The eight, all students aging from 11 to 15, were skating on an frozen lake in Shouwang Township in Zhaotong City at about 2:30 p.m., when the ice suddenly cracked.

Four of them managed to escape on their own and called adults for help. When the others were salvaged, two were found dead and two were unconscious, Ma Diankun, a police officer of Shouwang Township said.

The officer said the ice on the lake was only about four cm thick and was too dangerous to skate on. The injured are receiving emergency treatment at a local hospital.

Yunnan was among the provinces hit by heavy snow and icy rains since mid-January and the temperature was much lower than normal years.

(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2008)