Boy, 6, suffers ruptured liver after woman slides into him at Russia water park, father ignored warnings from staff

An accident at the Rodeo Drive water park in St Petersburg, Russia left a six-year-old boy with a ruptured liver after a woman flew off a slide and crashed into him.

According to Russian authorities, the boy was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a ruptured liver.

The Daily Mail reported that the boy has regained consciousness after undergoing emergency surgery but is still hospitalised in a serious condition.

Ignored warnings

Russian media reported that on Aug. 5, the boy's father had ignored warnings from water park staff members and swam directly into the slide's path with his son in his arms.

A woman then came down the slide at high speed a few seconds later and crashed into them, with her feet hitting the boy's abdomen.

The boy's mother said she was visiting St. Petersburg with her husband and two children. Her sons were visiting the city for the first time.

She said only her husband was at the water park with her sons when the accident occurred.

The woman who crashed into the child has apologised to the boy's family. The boy's parents do not blame her for the incident and his mother said the woman could not have known anyone was at the bottom of the slide.

Alyona also said the park has since refunded them for their tickets.

She added on Aug. 6 that that after pumping out blood from his abdominal cavity during surgery, doctors had already removed the probe from his nose and were going to remove the tube from the boy's stomach the next day as well as start giving him meals.

Criminal charges

A preliminary investigation for causing serious bodily harm through negligence was opened against the boy's father.

The prosecutor's office is monitoring the outcome of the probe.

The Daily Mail reported that both the woman who came down the slide and the water park are not under investigation.

Symptoms of liver rupture

According to a medical centre in Switzerland, liver ruptures are usually caused by the effect of blunt force on the abdominal cavity. With this blunt abdominal injury, the skin remains intact.

Symptoms of liver rupture include pain in the upper right abdomen, an increase in body temperature, tense abdominal muscles and hard abdominal wall as well as hemorrhagic shock from internal bleeding with a drop in blood pressure and rapid heartbeat.

It can be life-threatening and is an emergency that must be treated immediately to stop internal bleeding.

Top photos via water park CCTV footage/ Russian media