New Delhi: In a shocking turn of events, a pair of three year-old twins died after falling into a washing machine in their house at Avantika housing complex, Rohini, on Saturday afternoon.

The boys were found with their heads down in the tumbler of the machine. Police say a probe has been initiated into the cause of death. Through a preliminary probe indicated it was an accident, the cops are looking at all angles.

Doctors confirmed death by drowning. The bodies have been sent to a government hospital for autopsy.

The incident was reported around 12.40pm when the twins' mother, Rakhi, left Laksh and Neeshu playing near the bathroom in their first-floor apartment. Rakhi told the police that she had piled up clothes near the washing machine -a top-loading, semi-automatic model -filled it with water and gone to a grocery store nearby to buy washing powder. The door of the flat had not been locked.

When she returned after no more than six minutes, she couldn't find the children. She searched for them in the neighbouring apartments and then informed her husband, Ravinder, who works as a manager with a private insurance company in Rohini.

The couple has another child, Aditya, 10, who was in school. Ravinder came home within 10 minutes and joined the search for the children. The couple returned home around 1.10pm and when they checked the washing machine, they found the children lying head down in the water.

The couple pulled them out of the tumbler and rushed them to a private hospital where the boys were declared dead. They then took them to Jaipur Golden Hospital in Rohini where doctors confirmed death due to drowning.

Meanwhile police from Vijay Vihar police station reached the house. "We found 12-15 litres of water in the washing machine. Though the family does not suspect any foul play, a probe has been initiated," said M N Tiwari, DCP, Rohini.

Prima facie evidence suggests that the children might have climbed on a bucket beside the washing machine and tried to peep into the tumbler. The bucket might have slipped due to which they fell head down into the water. However, it's not clear how both could have fallen into the tumbler.

A crime and forensic team has lifted evidence from the scene.