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A video of a boy in China drowning in a public pool surrounded by oblivious swimmers has made headlines.
CCTV footage which captured the entirety of the boy's minutes-long struggle has been widely circulated on Chinese social media.
Struggling in the water
The eight-year-old boy from Lianyuan, China, drowned on Aug. 14, Yahoo News Australia reported.
In the video, he can be seen approaching the edge of the pool, before jumping in.
He immediately starts struggling to keep his head above the water.
Gif from Blagag! / YouTube
He continues to flail his arms in the water, despite being very close to the edge of the pool.
After about 30 seconds, another young boy walks over to the ladder and takes a dip before climbing back out.
The second boy seems to notice the other child in the water but appears to be unaware that he was struggling to keep himself afloat.
Gif from Blagag! / YouTube
Nearly a minute after first entering the pool, the exhausted boy's struggles cease and he sinks to the bottom of the pool.
Gif from Blagag! / YouTube
Although there are numerous swimmers in the pool, no one realises the boy is drowning.
A man in white standing near the edge of the pool eventually notices the submerged boy, close to a minute and a half after he stopped struggling.
It is uncertain if the man is a lifeguard.
Two other men then run over and haul the boy out of the water.
Gif from Blagag! / YouTube
The Sun reported that the boy was later pronounced dead. The swimming pool has been closed for investigation.
Things to look for when a child is drowning
A drowning person isn't always splashing and yelling. Drowning in real life is typically silent and quick and can occur in as little as 30 seconds.
A drowning child is usually unable to call for help, and will use their arms to try to push up on the water's surface. This might look like they are playing instead of struggling.
Here are some signs that a child might be in distress in the water.
- Head low in the water with the mouth at or below water level
- Head tilted back with mouth open
- Glassy or empty-looking eyes
- Eyes wide open or shut tightly
- Hair hanging over forehead or eyes
- Body in a near-vertical position, with little or no leg movement
- Attempting to swim but making little or no forward progress
- Gasping or hyperventilating
- Near (or at) the bottom of the water
- Attempting to roll over onto their back
If any of these signs are spotted, the child should be removed from the water immediately.
Top photo from Blagag! / YouTube