In a horrifying turn of events, the summer joy of one family was shattered when tragedy struck at a hotel pool.
Eleven-year-old London Marie and her 14-year-old brother Wadale drowned while engaging in a popular underwater breath-holding game, a dangerous twist on the classic game of Marco Polo.
Their mother, Brittney McWhite, who has four other children, had left them briefly unsupervised to prepare for a barbecue, confident in their swimming abilities.
Recounting the harrowing ordeal to FOX 29, Brittney McWhite disclosed that upon her return, she discovered her children motionless “at the bottom of the pool”.
Despite rapid rescue efforts and immediate medical intervention, the siblings could not be saved.
In light of the heartbreaking incident, the mum has released an urgent plea to all parents as the holiday season approaches, stressing the vital importance of constant supervision.
Her stark warning read: “Always have a set of eyes. Prevent your kids from playing games and make sure the pool is safe.”
London and Wadale’s battle for life continued for a week on life support machines, during which the desperate hope for their revival dimmed.
An emotional statement by Brittany on Sunday conveyed the wrenching decision she faced with the children’s father: “Keeping my child hooked onto a machine for the rest of their life is not ideally what any parent should want for their children, so today I and dad decided to end life support.
“Always have a set of eyes. Prevent your kids from playing games and make sure the pool is safe. If it doesn’t look right, don’t do it because once you lose your child, it is hard.”
The “devastated” mum found a small measure of solace in the belief that her children are “at peace”, acknowledging that despite being complete opposites, they were inseparable and simply couldn’t exist without each other. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has issued a stark reminder that children can drown in as little as five centimetres of water, indicating that even a shallow garden pond or paddling pool poses a significant risk to unsupervised youngsters.
They have called on families planning holidays by the pool or seaside to verify safety measures such as a lifeguard presence and fencing beforehand, and have stressed the importance of not only teaching children how to swim but also instilling a firm understanding that they should never swim alone.
