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Child, 3, figures in near-drowning
A 3-year-old child who figured in a near-drowning incident last Friday has since recovered.
The 3-year-old boy was found with no breath at the Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan swimming pool. Although the victim was not breathing, a pulse was found.
The victim, a Korean boy, was reportedly swimming with his sibling and his mother who had turned away from him for less than 30 seconds before the incident.
According to Department of Public Safety report, dispatch received the call on Friday Aug. 31, at about 3:57pm, reporting the incident.
Boating Safety officers arrived at 4:05pm and met with the resort’s supervising lifeguard. According to the lifeguard, he was on duty when a woman and her two children were swimming in the pool. The lifeguard said he noticed that the 3-year-old boy was not moving, so he jumped in, removed the child from the water, and administered two rescue breaths before medics arrived and transported the victim to the Commonwealth Health Center.
Although the victim was not breathing, the lifeguard said that the child did have a pulse at the time of transport.
Boating Safety officers later met with the mother of the victim at CHC, who said she and her family had just moved to Saipan in July.
The mother said she was in the pool with her children and had turned away from the victim for a few seconds.
The mother said she had a lifejacket with her but the victim was not wearing it.
Doctors at CHCC examined the child who later began breathing on his own. He was treated and has since been released.
Last July 14, one of four diving students accompanied by an instructor reportedly panicked and drowned at a Lau Lau Bay dive spot.
