Tragedy. Boy drowns in Carnival Victory Lido pool.

[Mack2]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1928819

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/10/14/3688742/6-year-old-boy-drowns-on-carnival.html

 

A 6-year-old boy drowned in a Carnival Cruise pool while the ship was at sea, according to Miami-Dade police and the Doral-based company.

The boy, Qwentyn Hunter of Winter Garden in Central Florida, was in the pool with his 10-year-old brother when he went under water and didn’t surface.

 

 

Other passengers pulled the boy from the water and tried to revive him, according to police.

 

 

 

The Carnival Victory, with more than 3,000 passengers, was on the last stretch of a four-day Caribbean cruise Sunday when the boy drowned in the middle pool.

 

 

 

“Carnival extends its heartfelt sympathy to the family during this very difficult time,” the cruise line said in a statement.

The drowning appears to be an accident; no foul play is suspected, police said Monday.

 

 

The ship, the Carnival Victory, returned to PortMiami on Monday morning from its weekend itinerary.

 

 

We were just discussing this in the snorkeling thread... well, not specifically this, but the level of comfort and ability in water for kids.

:(

 

 

So sorry for the family. It's a terrible and horrifying accident.

 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/10/14/3688742/6-year-old-boy-drowns-on-carnival.html#storylink=cpy

[Prinycesa07]

Oh my goodness! This is so sad. My thoughts are with them.

[Julienatul]

I always wondered how we dont here about more stories about kids drowning. There are always kids in the pools with parents off elsewhere. It seems people have a false sense of security on cruiseships when it comes to whose watching their children and those pools dont have a "shallow end". It is so sad to hear that. What was supposed to be a fun family getaway turns into their worst nightmare. My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

[Mack2]

CC Admins took the original Carnival Forum thread about the drowning down.. It got long and started to take a hostile tone last night. :(

 

 

Here is a thread for prayers that someone started.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1929415

[Lerin]

I always wondered how we dont here about more stories about kids drowning. There are always kids in the pools with parents off elsewhere. It seems people have a false sense of security on cruiseships when it comes to whose watching their children and those pools dont have a "shallow end".

 

The original thread is gone, but this was a very unusual drowning.

According to witnesses the parents were in fact "right there" and a sibling was also in the pool. He was playing around 1 minute and gone the next. Literally: 1 minute. I wonder if the child didn't have something else going on as drowning in this amount of time with people right by you is odd.

 

My thoughts are with the friends and family. It's just terrible. :(

[Mom2B&Z]

According to witnesses the parents were in fact "right there" and a sibling was also in the pool. He was playing around 1 minute and gone the next. Literally: 1 minute. I wonder if the child didn't have something else going on as drowning in this amount of time with people right by you is odd.

 

My thoughts are with the friends and family. It's just terrible. :(

 

I think that is every parents' nightmare.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

[larronry]

The original thread is gone, but this was a very unusual drowning.

According to witnesses the parents were in fact "right there" and a sibling was also in the pool. He was playing around 1 minute and gone the next. Literally: 1 minute. I wonder if the child didn't have something else going on as drowning in this amount of time with people right by you is odd.

 

My thoughts are with the friends and family. It's just terrible. :(

 

If this really happened with the parents right there (and I know I'm always right there with my son) how can we prevent this? Did they blink at the wrong time? Were there so many in the pool it was hard to track him? I guess I will be in the pool and not sitting on the edge with my feet dangling in on our next cruise.

 

My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

[Kerry's Girls]

I believe I read they were at sea. I watched my own daughter once have trouble when the ship was moving - the combination of no shallow end and the waves in the pool caused her to be unable to get to the ladder as quickly as she wanted and she got scared, but her flailing probably wouldn't have been noticeable to anyone but me since the kids around her were splashing around having fun with the waves. Such a nightmare - my prayers are with the family.

[Mack2]

If this really happened with the parents right there (and I know I'm always right there with my son) how can we prevent this? Did they blink at the wrong time? Were there so many in the pool it was hard to track him? I guess I will be in the pool and not sitting on the edge with my feet dangling in on our next cruise.

 

My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

 

A former lifeguard had posted in the original thread and stated that it doesn't take lung for someone to drown. Also, a lot of times, drowning isn't the screaming, flailing thing we see on TV... It's subtle and silent.

 

I wish I could pull that post up, because it was a real eye opener.

 

I'll try to Google it.

[Mack2]

Wow!

I love Google.

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/family/2013/06/rescuing_drowning_children_how_to_know_when_someone_is_in_trouble_in_the.html

 

The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine; what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not 10 feet away, their 9-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

How did this captain know—from 50 feet away—what the father couldn’t recognize from just 10? Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that’s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew know what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, “Daddy,” she hadn’t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn’t surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for is rarely seen in real life.

...

...

...

5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs..

 

 

 

I think this was the exact article that was posted in the original Carnival thread. Scary stuff.

[larronry]

Wow!

I love Google.

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/family/2013/06/rescuing_drowning_children_how_to_know_when_someone_is_in_trouble_in_the.html

 

 

 

 

 

I think this was the exact article that was posted in the original Carnival thread. Scary stuff.

 

Very scary indeed.

 

I believe I read they were at sea. I watched my own daughter once have trouble when the ship was moving - the combination of no shallow end and the waves in the pool caused her to be unable to get to the ladder as quickly as she wanted and she got scared' date=' but her flailing probably wouldn't have been noticeable to anyone but me since the kids around her were splashing around having fun with the waves. Such a nightmare - my prayers are with the family.[/quote']

 

I believe you are right. If the ship is rocking I wouldn't be surprised if an undertow is formed not unlike the one created in wave pools.

[klauer]

Yes, I think it is a good idea to be in the pool watching your kids, not just sitting on the edge possibly getting distracted by all the splashing, yelling, kids running around the deck, etc.

[momto2js]

When my kids were young we did ISR lessons. Not a substitute for supervision, but a layer of protection. They both swam on the swim team last summer at 6 and 4. Bigger than their ability to swim is their ability to FLOAT and rest when they need to. It is the best money I have ever spent.