Girl Found Drowned at Texas Aquatics Center

A young girl has died by drowning at a Texas aquatics center, according to police.

Police in Aransas Pass, near the coast southeast of Houston, were alerted to reports of a child drowning at an aquatics center at about 2:26 p.m. on Monday.

Witnesses said lifeguards managed to pull the child from the water at the Aransas Pass Aquatics Center and started with life-saving measures.

An Aransas Pass Police Department (APPD) spokesperson said the girl was under 10 years old and had been in a pool with her family at the time of the drowning. Police added the girl was not a resident of Aransas Pass.

The spokesperson added: "Emergency first responders assumed life-saving measures. EMS continued these efforts while en route to the nearest emergency room facility. Sadly, the girl died."

They continued: "As is customary with any life-threatening medical situation such as this, police, fire (Aransas Pass Fire Department APFD), and EMS all get sent. Police officers are trained in CPR, first aid and carry automated external defibrillators.

"Our APFD service is a licensed medical first responder organization. At this event, police and fire were first on location, followed by EMS."

APFD Chief Eric Blanchard said: "From us here and part of the Aransas Pass City and public safety family, the girl and her family, along with the lifeguards and those first responders involved, remain in our thoughts and prayers."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more children aged 1 to 4 die from drowning than any other cause of death.

It added: "For children ages 5–14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes."

The CDC said that every year there are an estimated 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings, an average of 11 drowning deaths per day.

There are also 8,000 nonfatal drownings in the U.S. every year, with an average of 22 nonfatal drownings per day.

According to the CDC, there are several things that you and others can do to help prevent drowning, which include:

• Learning basic swimming and water safety skills
• Build fences that fully enclose pools
• Closely supervise those who are in the water, especially children.
• Wear a life jacket if the person is a weaker swimmer
• Learn CPR to help save someone's life
• Know the risks of natural waters
• Avoid alcohol and consider the effects of medications
• Always swim with a friend and choose locations with lifeguards
• Don't try to hold your breath for a long time underwater as this can cause a blackout

Newsweek has contacted the APPD and the Aransas Pass Aquatics Center for comment via email.