2 schoolchildren die in tragic drownings at public swimming pools in Ho Chi Minh City

Dr. Dinh Tan Phuong, head of the emergency ward at the hospital, said on Monday that despite prolonged resuscitation efforts, neither child survived.

The first victim was a seven-year-old girl, a student at Binh Tri Dong A Elementary School, who drowned while on a school outing.

Lifeguards and teachers were present at the pool at the time of the incident.

According to medical records, at around midday on Saturday, the girl was playing with her classmates in a swimming complex consisting of several adjacent pools.

The water level of the pool where she was swimming was only about 0.4-0.5 meters deep.

About 15 minutes later, she was found unconscious, cyanotic, and not breathing.

She was pulled from the water and given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for about seven minutes before being taken to a nearby clinic, where resuscitation efforts continued to no avail.

The child was then transferred to Cu Chi Regional General Hospital in cardiac and respiratory arrest.

After more than 30 minutes of intensive resuscitation, her heartbeat was restored and she was transferred to Children’s Hospital 1.

However, she was admitted in a deep coma with multiple-organ failure caused by prolonged oxygen deprivation.

She was pronounced dead at 3:30 am on Monday.

The second case involved a 12-year-old boy who drowned while attending a swimming lesson at a public pool under the supervision of a physical education teacher and a swimming instructor.

Teachers reported that the boy entered the pool at around 1:30 pm on November 25.

At about 2:00 pm, he was discovered by his classmates unconscious and submerged in the water.

He was rescued in a comatose state, with rigid limbs, and received CPR at the scene for several minutes before being rushed to a nearby clinic.

He was later transferred to Hoc Mon Hospital in cardiac and respiratory arrest.

After over an hour of resuscitation, his heart resumed beating, and he was transferred to Children’s Hospital 1.

Despite intensive treatment, including blood filtration, the boy remained in a deep coma with multiple-organ failure and died at 2:00 am on December 7, after nearly 12 days of treatment.

Dr. Phuong said that an alarming aspect of both incidents was that they occurred in public swimming pools, in shallow water, and at times when supervision was in place.

These cases reflected serious gaps in supervision, early detection of danger, initial rescue procedures, and compliance with safety standards at swimming facilities.

Medical literature indicates that the brain begins to suffer irreversible damage after four minutes without oxygen and is almost impossible to recover after 10 minutes.

Any delay or mistake during this critical period can result in death or severe neurological damage.

Dr. Phuong emphasized that the practice of turning a drowning victim upside down to drain water is ineffective, wastes precious time, and does not save lives.

When a victim is in cardiac and respiratory arrest, immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including chest compressions and rescue breathing, is essential.