https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2gez04807o
According to other versions of this story, one fell in, and the other went to rescue him. Both are said to have drowned.
That canal is so shallow the water is at your waist when you stand up in it (depth 3.5 ft).
This can happen when people don’t know how to swim. On a video I watched a Chinese woman fall out of a little boat into knee high water and panic, a guide walked over and picked her up. It was almost funny but if the guy didn’t grab her she would have drowned too.
How do you not know how to stand in knee high water, even if you panic wouldn’t your legs/feet touch the ground
From that tiny anecdote, it kinda sounds like she didn’t know how to get herself up. Sounds stupid maybe, but from the moment she hit the water, she might have felt like she was fighting for her life.
Also, people panic in different ways, and being in water can be seriously upsetting for someone who’s never been, before.
You must not have children. When you give them a bath and they slip they often behave the same. If you don’t minor them and sit them back upright, they would most likely drown too. Panic is a wild thing.