An 18-month-old boy who fell into a pool ten days ago succumbed to his injuries and died Thursday night.
The child was being treated at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva following a July 29th accident, when the unattended child apparently slipped and fell into his family’s pool in Netivot, in southern Israel.
Minutes later, the boy was found submerged in the water, unconscious and with no pulse.
A MDA team called to the scene carried out resuscitation operations and evacuated him to Soroka Hospital in critical condition and artificial respiration.
Senior MDA Paramedic Adir Bitan, who responded to the incident, said, "When we arrived at the place, we saw a baby of about a year-and-a-half who had been submerged in a home pool. He was without pulse or breathing, and immediately we began giving him medical treatment and performing advanced resuscitation operations, including heart massage, respiration, and medication.
"After a long, nerve-racking moment, his pulse returned, we sedated him and evacuated him in an intensive care unit to the hospital, in critical and unstable condition," Bitan added.
“The report of this young child’s death nearly two weeks after he drowned is heartbreaking,” said Orly Silbinger, CEO of the Beterem Safe Kids Israel organization.
Two-hundred-and-six children have drowned in Israel since 2008, Beterem said, including 12 this year.
“Drowning occurs quickly and quietly,” warned Silbinger. “And exactly when we aren’t paying attention. We urge parents: Don’t say ‘it can’t happen to me’.”
“Take preventative action. There has to be someone watching the children around the water all the time, someone close enough to get them without thinking twice. When there are multiple adults around, make sure there is always one adult assigned to watch the kids. Put fences around private pools at home and at vacation homes, and put an automatically self-locking gate to prevent children going into the pool alone.”