A child was pulled from the water during Friday swim lessons at the St. Cloud (Minn.) Area Family YMCA. The child, who has not been publicly identified, was transported to the hospital for further treatment.
Witnesses, including parents of other children in swim lessons, told KNSI that the child was underwater anywhere from several seconds to a minute before lifeguards and YMCA staff jumped into action.
According to KNSI, “staff and first responders worked on the child for several more minutes before transporting her for further treatment.”
All lifeguards present were trained in CPR, AED and other first aid skills, which came into play when saving the child. Based on the accounts of witnesses, the child was resuscitated fully before the paramedics arrived.
Swim lessons were canceled over the weekend but are scheduled to resume this week. YMCA executive director Greg Gack released a statement following the incident. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the child, her family and friends, as well as those who provided help. Safety is core to our work at the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA. As part of our commitment to upholding the highest standards of safety in our programs, we are conducting a thorough internal review to fully understand the details of this incident. I encourage you to reach out to me if I can be of any support to you.”
In an email to families affected by the incident, Gack also provided solutions for families whose children may be troubled by what they witnessed at the pool. “Let them know that you are there to listen and support them, allowing them to talk, write or draw about the event and the emotions they’re feeling. Explain what happened in an age-appropriate manner and answer any questions they have accordingly.”
Gack and other YMCA officials told KNSI that the internal review should determine what caused the near-drowning and improve the team’s emergency action plan to keep similar incidents from occurring in the future.
