Water Incidents Bring Call for Safety

By Susan Essoyan

Adult supervision is lacking as one child drowns and another is in critical condition

After a 2-year-old girl drowned and a 6-year-old boy nearly drowned just two hours apart and within a few miles from each other, officials are calling on parents and others to keep close tabs on children near the water.

“We all need to be there for the keiki,” said Shayne Enright, spokeswoman for Honolulu’s Emergency Services Department. “The community has got to step up and step in, even if it is not their child.”

In both cases Monday the children got into trouble while their parents weren’t paying attention, in areas where there are no lifeguards, one at Sand Island and the other at Kakaako Waterfront Park.

“Swim where there is a lifeguard,” Enright said. “Never turn your back on a child. Never leave a child in the responsibility of another child. They don’t know what to do, and they are not strong enough to pull a child from under the water.”

Drowning is the leading cause of injury-related death among children ages 1 to 5 in Hawaii, accounting for one-third of victims, according to Dan Galanis, epidemiologist with the Department of Health’s Injury Prevention and Control Program.

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