Saturday’s fine weather turned into a nightmare for families in Quebec, as two young children fell into residential swimming pools. If one was resuscitated in extremis, the other lost his life.
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The first event occurred in the morning, in the courtyard of a residence located at the corner of Route Marie-Victorin and Rue Cayer, in the Saint-Nicolas sector.
For some unknown reason, the child allegedly lost his flotation device while playing with other young people his age in the pool. The event occurred in a moment of parental inattention.
“The other children alerted the adult by shouting, while the victim was in cardiorespiratory arrest,” explains Captain Julien Roy, of the City of Lévis Police Department (SPVL). It was the parent who carried out the resuscitation maneuvers which enabled the boy to come to his senses and to evacuate the water he had swallowed.
Photo QMI Agency, René Leclerc
When the emergency services arrived at the residence on Marie-Victorin road, in Lévis, a parent had already carried out resuscitation maneuvers on the child, who was saved.
Emergency services were still called to the scene, and the child was transported to the hospital for evaluation. However, the victim should not suffer any sequelae related to this event, indicates the SPVL. “It could have been worse, the intervention of adults on site was very quick,” insists Mr. Roy.
A death in Saint-Lambert
Unfortunately, it didn’t end so well on Avenue de Normandie, in Saint-Lambert, near Montreal, where a 4-year-old child lost his life in the late afternoon after being found unresponsive. in the swimming pool of the residence where he resided.
Despite resuscitation maneuvers and the use of a cardiac defibrillator, his death was declared in a hospital within the hour that followed.
Photo QMI Agency, Mario Beauregard
“Was it accidental, who was on site and present with the young person, what type of surveillance was carried out, what was the layout of the land, etc. We still have to shed some light,” explains François Boucher, spokesperson for the Longueuil agglomeration police department.
The Lifesaving Society’s executive director, Raynald Hawkins, reminds us that, in young children, the reaction time is very short to avoid the worst.
“Usually it’s 15 to 20 seconds for a child […] He breathes every three seconds, while adults breathe on average once every five seconds,” he says, explaining that the room for maneuver is slim.
However, thanks to hammered-out prevention messages and tools such as the concept of designated lifeguard, several tragedies are avoided, he believes.
Already 19 deaths this year
According to the latest statistics compiled by the Lifesaving Society, 19 drownings have already been recorded since the beginning of the year, compared to 21 deaths at the same date last year.
In 2021, the Lifesaving Society recorded 81 drownings, compared to 95 in 2020 and 59 in 2019.