WARNING: Some viewers may find this video disturbing
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Video shows the frantic rescue of a 12-year-old-boy trapped underwater for nine minutes at a Myrtle Beach resort, The Myrtle Beach Sun News reports.
Surveillance video shows the boy and his friend swimming around the lazy river at Avista Resort on March 19. One of the boys can be seen diving down to a grate at the bottom of the waterway several times.
On his last dive down, his leg became stuck. His friend and some adults tried to get him out but were unsuccessful.
"He was given underwater mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by the first person to find him in the pool, which was not one of our rescue people, someone who was staying at the resort," North Myrtle Beach Public Information Officer Patrick Dowling told the paper.
Emergency crews were able to finally pull the boy out of the pool after about nine minutes.
"The fact that he was alive when he was transported to the hospital can be larger attributed to the fact that several people involved in the incident, in his rescue, gave him mouth-to-mouth while he was underwater," Dowling said.
Police are not releasing more information on the boy's condition, only that he is alive.
The corporate general manager for MB Seaside Resorts, Jim Eggen, told WMBF that an investigation has since determined that the boys had dislodged the grate, which blocks the suction line.
Eggen told the Myrtle Beach television station that he couldn't say more because an attorney representing the family has contacted the company, but did add this statement:
“On behalf of the Avista Resort, we want to thank all of the people involved in the boy’s rescue. We are thrilled to hear that he is doing well and wish him the best for his future.”
