NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine — A little boy is alive and well after surviving a near-drowning in New Gloucester.
Outlet Beach beach goers on Sabbathday Lake in New Gloucester say a little boy, wearing a flotation device, jumped off of a swim raft into his mom’s arms Monday afternoon, when he took on too much water.
“He literally took water up his nose, into his lungs so quickly, ” Krista Desjarlais, the Owner of Bresca & the Honey Bee at Outlet Beach said. “From what I’ve been told he was unable to breathe, (his mother) got him up on the deck and people were right there to performed the proper CPR.”
The New Gloucester Fire Department says just after 2:30 p.m., they got a call of a child potentially unresponsive.
Fire officials say before they had the opportunity to perform life saving measures, beach-goers already did.
“The EMS crew, fire chief, along our paramedics marched through the waters, got out to the dock, and announced the child was breathing at the time because bystanders did CPR on the child,” Capt. Scott Doyle of the New Gloucester Fire Department said.
The child was brought to shore on a small blow-up raft provided by beach-goers and transported by ambulance to Maine Medical Center.
Fire officials say the boy is OK, thanks to the life-saving efforts of his mom, beach goers and staff at Bresca And The Honey Bee.
“This is something every parent never wants to happen, but fortunately she was here and people here were ready,” Desjarlais said. “I think that little boy was incredibly lucky but also these type of things happen a lot — everywhere, not just here.”
“CPR saves lives, that was the case here” Doyle said. “I can’t stress it enough, everyone should learn it.”
Fire officials are urging parents to enroll their children in swim lessons, always keep an eye on the water, and ask small children don’t go in the water past their waist, depending on the conditions.
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