Two toddlers have died a week after being pulled unconscious from the bottom of their backyard pool.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Michael Porter and 16-month-old Josh Porter were rushed to hospital on March 25, after nearly drowning in the swimming pool of their home in Queensland, Australia.
Emergency services were called to their home in Morayfield, about an hour’s drive from Brisbane, following reports that two toddlers had been found at the bottom of the pool.
They were transferred to Queensland Children’s Hospital pediatric intensive care unit, but passed away over the weekend.
Local media reports have provided no details of how the accident may have happened.
Pictures of the pool show it is surrounded by a high metal fence.
“Carmen and Jo are beautiful parents and need all of our love and support at this horrible time,” said the appeal on GoFundMe. “Michael and Josh are in all of our thoughts and prayers.”
Jo and Carmen Porter said they were grateful for the support they had received.
“Our family is incredibly grateful for the support and care provided by staff of the Queensland Children’s Hospital.”
Drowning Incidents A Leading Cause of Death
An average of 30 children under the age of 5 die from drowning each year in Australia, according to a Royal Life Saving Society report.“Most of the drowning incidents occurred in home swimming pools (91.6 percent), with a further 6.0 percent occurring in portable pools,” said the report.
“Supervision was completely absent in 59.0 percent of cases.”
In the United States, like many countries, drowning is the leading cause of death for young children, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)—mostly due to falling into a pool or being left in a bathtub.
“Most parents think water safety is first and foremost on their minds whenever they are enjoying summer activities with their young kids. But when the unthinkable happens, caregivers often say, ‘I only looked away for a second.'”
Exactly what age is appropriate to leave a child alone in a bathtub is a matter for debate among experts, but many say they should be at least school age.
Dana Walraven, manager of Community Health Outreach at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, said parents should never leave a child unsupervised in the bathtub.
If a doorbell rings, parents should get the child out of the bathtub to answer it, she said.