A young boy’s life was cut short when he drowned in the pool area of a resort Shaanxi province, China.
The tragedy was caught on camera. In the video footage, the young boy is seen splashing around the water, as if waving for help. The mom can be seen preoccupied with her smartphone while submerged until her waist in the shallow part of the pool. She eventually puts her phone away to check on the boy. Unfortunately, she heads in the wrong direction.
She doesn’t notice that he is drowning a few meters away—until it is too late.
Asking the resort’s staff for help, she finally finds the boy’s lifeless body 30 minutes later, Shanghaiist reports. The boy was trying to get help for 3 minutes before he drowned.
The report also stated that the pool where the boy drowned had 1-foot shallow area which sinks down to about 4 feet; this deep end is where the boy drowned. In between the two areas of the pool is a low wall.
You can view the footage below.
What parents need to know about ‘silent drowning’
It’s important for parents to know that drowning is often silent. Just because we don’t hear cries for help, it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Drowning doesn’t always look like drowning. When your kids are swimming without you in a pool, always remember to keep a close eye on them and watch out for these subtle signs of drowning:
- Head submerged or low in the water
- Mouth is submerged
- Head titled upwards with mouth open
- Glassy or closed eyes
- Hair covering forehead or eyes
- Gasping or hyperventilating
- Trying to swim but unable to move
- Struggling to flip onto one’s back
- Flailing as if climbing an “invisible ladder”
How to perform CPR on babies and small children
- Unlike the common 2-handed technique we see done on adults, for babies you must only use two fingers and for children, use only one hand. This is so that you won’t crack their ribs due to too much pressure.
- Compress the baby/child’s chest no deeper than 1/3 of their body’s depth.
- Compress the chest 30 times followed by two rescue breaths.
- Don’t tilt the head back. Unlike adults, doing this can obstruct their airway. Put your hand on the baby/child’s forehead and raise it just enough to make the head level.
- Place your mouth over the baby’s mouth and nose and breathe into it.
- Repeat 30 compressions and two rescue breaths until the baby or child is revived.
- To review, you can watch this video demonstration below.
READ: A mother’s warning on Facebook, following an alarming ordeal in the pool
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