Underwater Sinkhole Kills 6 Louisiana Teens - Kansas City Swimmers and Lifeguards Stay Alert!

Some consider swimming to be an instinctive survival tool.  Put an infant in deep water, and it will kick its legs.  But drownings still happen every summer in the United States, and parents must prepare their children for these life-or-death situations.

At a casual get-together in the community of Shreveport Beach, six teenagers lost their life in a drowning accident. At a party with dozens and dozens of partakers, not one of the party-goers knew how to swim well enough to save these children. 

By no means were these non-swimmers venturing into the deep end.  Instead, the teenagers had been cautious and chose a hang out in a shallow area of water; unfortunately what they didn't know was that they were standing on the very edge of an eighteen-foot sinkhole.

Early in the evening, one of the teenagers had stepped on a sinkhole area.  A sinkhole is a seemingly normal patch of ground that disguises an empty pocket of land that lies below.  The area collapsed inward causing several of the teenagers nearby to fall in.  In a most heroic effort, the other teenagers, who had not already fallen in, did their best to rescue their drowning friends.  But their efforts were to little avail, because they soon found themselves drowning as well. 

Emergency officials received a call from an adult woman who watched the drownings take place.  She was also unable to swim and reported to police watching each child fall into the sinkhole screaming for help.  Only one fourteen-year-old was saved.

If you believe that a child you love has suffered as the result of an accident that could have been prevented, we urge you to give any one of our Kansas City child injury lawyers a call today!  We are committed to preventing child injury and accident situations by informing parents of how to protect their children.  But when the inevitable does occur, we are standing by to help you.