12-year-old boy nearly drowns after getting stuck in resort's lazy river
A 12-year-old boy nearly drowned on a lazy river ride in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Monday evening after his leg got stuck in an underwater pump, according to police.
North Myrtle Beach police arrived at the Avista Resort around 10 p.m. to "find a juvenile stuck underwater in what is believed to be the intake pump to the lazy river," according to the police report.
Pat Dowling, public information officer for the City of North Myrtle Beach, told ABC News the suction held the boy's leg underwater because "the grate was not in place at that time."
First responders rescued the boy, who was not named by police. He was transported to a local hospital and his condition is unknown.
One witness told Myrtle Beach Online that “the boy was stuck under water for almost 10 minutes.”
Dowling said the North Myrtle Beach Public Safety Department is leading the investigation into the incident.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control told ABC News that Avista had passed recent pool inspections.
"DHEC conducts at least two annual unannounced routine inspections of all public swimming pools operating in the state of South Carolina during the swimming season," the department said, adding that Avista had passed the two most recent inspections.
Avista Resort did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
