Four teenagers drowned when they were electrocuted in a public pond in Thailand.

The youths met to have lunch together, then took a dip at the pool surrounding the abandoned Wat Nong Krok Buddhist temple in Ubon Ratchathani province on December 11.

But while paddling near the dilapidated building, three of the lads were zapped by the electric current running through the water. Ther friend jumped in trying to save them, but tragically suffered the same fate.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Napachayakorn Chotinet of the Namyuen Police Station said officers received a report at 12:30 pm.

Emergency servicves rushed to the scene and pulled the youngsters out of the water. Medics tried reviving them with CPR, but the boys had been underwater for too long and could not be saved.

They were identified by officers as Pongpat Winalo, 16, Thanakorn Pikul, 15, Natchapol Uttaisri, 14, and Suphachai Kracha, 12, all from the same school . Their bodies were taken to the Wat Nong Wang for funeral proceedings.

Prapaporn Jainoi, 15, a friend of the boys, said they had all gone out to eat chicken at the nearby village and went to cool off at the pond.

She said: 'I thought they were just playing hide-and-seek in the water, but I noticed they did not resurface even after 30 minutes. I felt something was wrong so I ran back home to call for help.'

Thankorn's grandfather Krai Pikul, 67, went to retrieve his grandchild himself. However, he said he felt his hand go numb as he ventured into the electrified spot, with the current growing stronger the deeper he went.

He said he managed to pull himself up from the water, but Pongpat had jumped in despite his warnings and was electrocuted.

Thanakorn's uncle Chatchai Pikul, 36, said: 'I went to the scene to help. At the time, I still didn't know what happened and I didn't know the water was electrified. After a short while, we found the bodies near a pillar of the temple's walkway.

'It was very likely the boys were electrocuted. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't all have drowned simultaneously because they were skilled swimmers.'

Local electricians conducted an inspection following the incident and found an electric cable running from a nearby pavillion to the abandoned temple in the middle of the pond.

The temple was connected to land by a stilt walkway made of wood and steel believed to have conducted the deadly current that killed the teens.

Ittisak Juengmankongkit, director of the local government electrical office, said: 'The wire was carrying a 243-volt electric current, which can cause death. The electricity may have flowed into the water through the temple's metal frame. It could kill anyone in a 20-30 metre radius.'

Ongart Pongaree, director of the Dompraditwithaya School where the victims studied, said the school staff donated 5,000 THB (112 GBP) to each bereaved family, with an additional 50,000 THB (1,127 GBP) coming from the students' life insurance.