An 8-year-old girl from Pennsylvania and a 34-year-old man from New Jersey suffered electrical shocks while swimming in outdoor pools this past Memorial Day weekend, ABC news reports. Both are in critical condition.
The 34-year-old man was shocked in a pool at the Aztec Motel in Wildwood Crest, NJ. According to the Wildwood Crest Police Department, he was “discovered unconscious at the bottom of the pool,” on Saturday. He was transported to the Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia.
The exact cause of the incident is unknown. The owner of the motel, Adamo Pipitone, told ABC News that this is the first incident of its kind at the motel, and that they are still trying to discover what caused the shock.
Wildwood Crest PD’s Detective Sergeant Edward Gorski told ABC News that he himself had never seen anything like this before. He advised to call 911 if you ever believe someone has been electrically shocked in a pool.
Just the next day, Sunday, an 8-year-old girl suffered from a shock in a backyard pool. Silver Spring Township PD’s Sergeant Jared Huff told ABC News that she was left in critical condition after the shock. Huff reported that eight children were in the pool, when one hit the switch for the pool light, which could have caused the shock. It’s not certain, though, if that truly was the cause of the shock. According to ABC News, the 8-year-old girl was the only one of the children who was unable to exit the pool– she was reportedly airlifted to Hershey Medical Center where she remains in the ICU.
Oddly enough, both police departments from these separate incidents noted that these were rare situations with the shocks.
911 should always be called if there is a suspected shock victim, especially when there is swimming involved.