North Myrtle Beach, S.C. (WPDE) — A 12-year-old boy got caught in the suction line while playing in a lazy river at the Avista Resort in North Myrtle Beach Monday around 9:45 p.m., according to a news release from North Myrtle Beach Public Information Officer, Pat Dowling.
A three-foot by three-foot grate covering a six inch suction line that is part of the lazy river had been removed, according to the news release, and one of the boy’s legs was sucked into the suction line, holding him underwater for what witnesses say may have been 10 minutes or so.
Miguel Cavazos, visiting from Walterboro, S.C. and staying at the Avista Resort in North Myrtle Beach, said he was coming home from dinner when he came across the tragic scene.
“It was everyone running, it was just scary. You see a boy lying there not breathing, you know. And you see other people crying and it was just really nerve racking. I couldn’t stop thinking about it last night and today,” he said.
Police say they performed CPR on the boy and detected a slight pulse. He was transferred to Grand Strand Medical Center where his parents met him.
ABC15’S Sydney Glenn spoke with a family member who said the boy was being treated at MUSC in Charleston. They did not wish to speak on camera.
It was a night Cavazos will never forget.
“I don’t think I slept well at all. At all. I just kept getting up in the middle of the night. It’s not something you forget,” he said.
As a parent, Cavazos said his heart goes out to the family.
“I can’t imagine what they’re going through. His parents, I couldn’t imagine. I would never want to put myself in that position,” he said.
Even for the people, like 14-year-old Haley Frias, who didn’t see the horrific accident, it’s still scary.
“It’s crazy. I mean, like, we were down there and we were just swimming and having a good time and we could have gotten in that situation,” she said.
She said It’s hard not to imagine ‘what if’.
“I doubt I will probably go in the lazy river or the pool or I don’t know, just being down there knowing that could have happened and knowing that there is a possibility that it could happen again,” Frias said.
Many people are calling what happened a freak accident.
“That’s terrible. I’ve been coming here for a couple years and I see a lot of people having fun in the swimming pool areas and I’ve never heard of anything like that before,” hotel guest Alfred Legere said.
Many who heard what happened said they’re praying for the boy and his family.
“I don’t have words for it. You just don’t want to say, all I can do is pray for the parents. That’s all I keep doing. Pray for him and his family,” said Cavazos.
We have reached out to the resort for comment, but have not yet heard back.
North Myrtle Beach Police are investigating.