One-year-old boy found in shallow pool
A one-year-old boy was found drowned in a shallow swimming pool on Saturday afternoon in Dersley.
The boy’s parents were on the premises at the time of the drowning but were not aware of his whereabouts until his mother was showing a potential tenant the property.
It was when they neared the swimming pool that the visiting woman noticed what appeared to be a doll in the pool.
Realising that the doll was in fact her child, the mother screamed and pulled the child out of the pool.
Hearing the screams, the neighbours called Henry Harber, from Wild Wild Guardians, who lives across the street.
He was not at home at the time but he called Theo Wessels, who works at EMER-G-MED and was off duty at the time but rushed to the scene.
Theo was the first on the scene and immediately started CPR on the boy and continued until Netcare 911 arrived a few minutes later.
Netcare paramedics tried for an hour to resuscitate the child.
“Paramedics arrived swiftly,” says Henry, who arrived shortly after receiving the call from a neighbour.
Police, CPF members, CMS and Henry and Margie Harber were all on scene.
The boy was declared dead on the scene.
It is not clear how the child got to the pool or how long he was in the water.
There was a net covering the pool but one side was not securely attached, leaving a gap through which the boy allegedly fell.
Springs Police spokesman Captain Johannes Ramphora says that the case is currently being investigated to determine the circumstances surrounding the drowning.
Henry says he is devastated by the death of the child but feels the paramedics and CPF members did all they could to help the boy.
