Updated on: 2/26/2019
Two young boys were pronounced dead after two separate and unrelated drowning incidents in Western Washington over this past weekend, according to multiple news reports from local outlets.
In the first case, on Saturday an 8-year-old boy was with family at the White River which runs through Mount Rainier National Park. According to the Pierce County Medical Examiner, Ahmad Asiri was playing on a log on the river near the White River campground when he fell in. The boy’s older brother jumped in the water in an attempt to save him but was unable to do so, according to Patti Wold, a spokesperson for Pierce County.
Park rangers found the boy’s body some time after he fell in and attempted to revive him. However, he was pronounced dead shortly after they found him. Reports indicate that the boy and his family are residents of Saudi Arabia but were in the Seattle area visiting.
The following day, the Snohomish County sheriff’s office says that another 8-year-old boy was at Lake Roesiger with friends and family at a family gathering. Witnesses told officers that the boy was swimming out to a floating platform on the lake and sank into the water and they could not find him.
After approximately 45 minutes of intensive searching, a rescue team found the young boy in 27 feet of water. Medics performed CPR on the boy at the scene and then he was transported to a nearby hospital. Doctors were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead Monday morning, according to news reports. His name has not yet been released.
Risks of Drowning During Summer Months
Also on Saturday, a rescue team in Auburn pulled a mother and her two young children from the Green River after their inflatable raft deflated while they were in the middle of the water. The incident occurred near Flaming Geyser State Park which is located between Auburn and Black Diamond, according to reports.
These incidents come at a time where the risk of drowning is perhaps at its highest for a number of reasons. First, the weather is becoming increasingly warm throughout Washington state as a whole, which means more people are on the water and there are more boats and other watercraft that can potentially cause a person to become injured while in the water.
It is important for parents and children alike to understand what they can do to ensure their own safety while in the water during these times. For more information on this topic, check out our blog post, “In Most Cases, Drowning Does Not Look Like Drowning.”