Three members of a British-American family of five drowned in a hotel pool on Christmas Eve while on holiday in Spain, local media reported on Wednesday.
The accident happened on Tuesday afternoon in Mijas on the Costa del Sol in the south of the country, media reports said, citing local authorities.
The cause of the accident was not yet clear, a police spokesman told dpa on Wednesday, but a problem with the pool's pump has not been ruled out.
 The family had been in Mijas, not far from Malaga, for a few days.
A 9-year-old girl initially got in trouble in the pool, the Sur newspaper and other media reported, citing witnesses. Her father and 16-year-old brother tried to rescue her, but all three ended up dying.
The management of the Club la Costa hotel said employees and a doctor had come to the immediate aid of the guests after the alarm was raised. However, attempts to resuscitate the victims were unsuccessful.
 Witnesses, especially the mother and her third child, were receiving psychological counselling.
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