A 3-year-old boy from northern Israel died on Wednesday after drowning in a private pool over the weekend.
The incident happened on Saturday when the boy and his family, living in the Haifa suburb of Nesher, were on their way to a friend’s house in the town of Atlit.
As the families ate inside, the boy was playing by the pool and apparently took off his water feathers before going into the pool.
A neighbor repairing his car across the street, who was the first to respond, tried to revive the child.
The Walla news site quoted witnesses as saying that a piece of food was taken out of the boy’s mouth. It is not clear whether the child choked on the piece of food.
Magen David Adom paramedics who arrived at the home said they found the boy unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing.
The boy was taken to the Ruth Rapaport Children’s Hospital in Haifa, where he was admitted in a serious but stable condition. The hospital said he was put on a ventilator upon arrival at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
However, his condition deteriorated on Wednesday and he died, the hospital said.
The boy is the fourth Israeli child to die from a drowning-related incident this year, after 19 died in 2021, according to data from the Betrem – Safe Kids Israel organization.
This week, the organization is celebrating “Child Safety Week” in an effort to emphasize safety ahead of summer, when families flock to the pools and beaches.
