Two 18-month-old twins drowned in a canal in Arizona after their mother tried to swat away a bee and let go of their stroller , police in Yuma said . Alexis Keslar was walking with her sons , Eli and Silas Keslar along the canal bank on Friday when she was distracted and the stroller tragically rolled away from her into the canal . Keslar desperately tried to rescue her sons , but police have said finding a way down the steep banks proved too difficult and she watched helplessly as the strong current swept her children away . Tragedy : The twin 18-month-old boys who died after falling into a Arizona canal this weekend have been identified as brother Eli and Silas Keslar . Pictured above on their first birthday with parents Alexis ( left ) and Mark Keslar ( right ) Eli and Silas were pulled from the water one hour later and rushed to hospital where they were pronounced dead . 'No parent should ever have to lose a child , you know , let alone both of them at the same time , ' family friend Marlene Gleim told CNN . 'That 's what really , really is heartbreaking to me , because those little boys were , you know , meant so much to so many people . ' While authorities in the southern Arizona town officially identified the victims , a Go Fund Me page was set up for the parents , Mark and Alexis Keslar . Marlene Gleim , a friend of the boys ' grandmother Marlena Martinez , set up the page after learning about their deaths on local media . The fund to cover memorial and medical costs for the boys has already raised more than $ 20,000 . Too young : Authorities revealed on Monday that the two boys ended up in the canal because their mother was fighting off a bee . Waterway : Visible in this picture of the Yuma Canal are its steep banks . Along other parts of the canal there is a strong current running too . ' I would consider them family , and family is not always blood-related , ' Ms Gleim told the Yuma Sun . ' I 'm extremely… I 'm at a loss of words with all of this . ' After the tragic reason the boys died was revealed , authorities cautioned others on the seemingly benign canal . 'Many people typically do not comprehend how swift the current in these canals are and how deep the water can be , ' Yuma police said . 'They also do not realize how difficult it is to climb back up many of the canal embankments . ' Emergency : Above , the scene were the two boys were pulled out of the canal Friday morning in Yuma , Arizona . The toddlers are believed to have fallen in the water at 9.45am on Friday . After a police search that lasted more than an hour , the brothers were pulled from the water . They were flown by a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter to a Yuma hospital , where they were pronounced dead , Franklin said . The area along the canal is used by families for walks and by joggers and a family member was nearby when the boys ended up in the water . Yuma Fire Department spokesman Mike Erfert said their crews were called out on a possible drowning . Tragic : Eli and Silas are pictured above in a recent photo posted to their grandmother 's Facebook page . Touching : As of Sunday , the fund to cover memorial and medical costs for the two boys had raised over $ 10,000 . Helicopters from the U.S. Border Patrol and the Marine Corps also flew over the canal searching for the boys . The Border Patrol helicopter crew spotted the brothers in the water , Erfert said , and they were pulled out at about 11.20am . Paramedics began immediate life-saving efforts and the boys were quickly loaded onto the Marine Corps helicopter for the trip to the hospital .
Police in Yuma , Arizona , revealed that tragic death was caused by a bee . Eli and Silas Keslar were pulled from a canal in Yuma , Arizona on Friday . meanwhile , Alexis ##ma tried to save her babies but accidentally threw them away . GoFundMe page set up for family has raised $ 20,000 over the weekend .