Local authorities confirmed that five vagrant children were found dead in a trash bin in Southwest China's Guizhou province on Friday morning.

The investigation into their deaths is ongoing, and the children have not been identified. The government attaches great importance to the case, Xie Di, a publicity official from the city government of Bijie, said on Sunday.

Li Yuanlong, a netizen at club.kdnet.net, a popular online forum, wrote on Friday night that the children climbed inside a trash bin to stay warm on Bijie city's Huandong Road and suffocated.