A 3-year-old was flown to the hospital after the child fell into a Deerfield Beach pool on Sunday, authorities said.
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It happened at a neighborhood pool on Tivoli Circle.
Witnesses said the child was playing in the pool with a floating device when he ended up under water. One woman said he spent close to a minute under water.
“He was trying to get onto a clear red and blue doughnut floaty,” another child told NBC6 with permission from his mother. “And then he like, tried gripping it, and then it like, flipped when he was gripping it, so he fell into the water. And he didn’t know how to swim.”
The woman who witnessed the incident said the child coughed up water and opened his eyes, but a few minutes later appeared to be falling asleep, so his mother called 911.
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The Broward Sheriff’s Office said the child “fell in” to the pool and was pulled out. They said the incident was not a drowning, and that the child was breathing when fire rescue arrived.
He was flown to the hospital for evaluation, BSO said. More information on his condition was not immediately available.
With summer in full swing, officials remind the community that drowning is the one of the leading causes of accidental deaths among children in South Florida.
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Adults should remember to:
- teach children water safety and swimming skills as early as possible.
- appoint a “designated watcher” to monitor children during social gatherings at or near pools.
- maintain constant visual contact with children in a pool or pool area.