A 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder his two biological children, a girl, 8, and a boy, 4, by throwing them into a 30-metre deep well after a heated argument with his wife at a village in Lilongwe, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place at Matapa Village in Likuni area on July 6, 2024.

The accused, Aubrey Madzinkusamba, was arrested after the children miraculously survived the three-day ordeal in the well. The children were admitted to Kamuzu Central Hospital.

Lilongwe police spokesperson Hastings Chigalu said Madzinkusamba had agreed to divorce his wife following a quarrel but planned the murder of the children for fear of losing them to his wife.

“The suspect planned to kill them so that neither the wife, nor him, benefit possession of the children,” he said.

The children were rescued after his wife reported the matter to Chinsapo Police Unit.

“The law enforcers, rushed to the scene where they found the kids still holding on to their breath, with their heads just above the waters,” Chigalu said.

“They used a bucket that was tied to ropes, to hook the kids to safety, one by one.”