A Florida boy, age 6, was pulled from the bottom of a swimming pool on a Carnival Cruise ship, but attempts to revive him failed.
He drowned — and now witnesses are wondering how that could happen, given the number of adults in the area at the time of the boy’s swim, CNN reported.
“It was a lot of chaos, people were going crazy, people were praying, they had their hands to the sky. It was a scary scene, seeing a little boy just lifeless,” said one passenger, Deshaun Christian, who witnessed the rescue attempt, CNN reported.
Mr. Christian said plenty of people were around the pool area, drinking, dancing and relaxing. A disc jockey reportedly saw the boy first and stopped playing music. One of the passengers jumped into the pool and pulled out the boy, but neither he nor a crew member could bring back his breathing.
He was pronounced dead shortly after, the cruise line reported on Monday.
“There were a lot of adults, but why wasn’t anyone watching the kids? You’d think Carnival would have lifeguards around the pool,” Mr. Christian said, CNN reported.
A Carnival Cruise spokeswoman told CNN that the company posts signs at its pools alerting to the need of parental supervision for children under the age of 13, and that lifeguards aren’t provided.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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