Three Chinese children killed while playing in a cement mixer

Three children were killed and another seriously injured in southern China after they climbed into a cement mixer to play and the machine started, according to a newspaper report.

The children, aged four to eight, were playing by an abandoned workshop in Huizhou in Guangdong province when the accident happened on Sunday afternoon, the Southern Metropolis News reported.

A neighbour heard screams coming from the building and found one boy had been thrown out of the cement mixer.

The father of three of the children disconnected the power cable to stop the machine.

Two children died at the scene and another died later in hospital. The fourth is receiving treatment in hospital.

The families of the children have questioned how the machine was turned on and police are investigating, the report said.