Quote:
Originally Posted by Otter74
People who are drowning are panicking and will often more or less climb on top of someone trying to save them in an effort to keep their heads above water, pushing that person under. That may have happened in this case.
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For sure. After high school I got my life saving certificate and spent the summer as a life guard. Mostly at pools but at a beach for a spell. I watched a canoe capsize with several teenagers. No big deal, they were all laughing except I noticed one of them in trouble. The bow line had wrapped around his leg and he was panicking. I swam under him and untangled his leg but he was coughing water and freaking out. They taught us to approach the panicker, swim under them and up the legs in back of them, cross chest carry grabbing their arm pit hard enough to hurt and yelling chill out! It worked. Another time at a public pool i noticed a body at the bottom of the deep end. I brought him up, pumped water out and got him breathing again. He said his hamstring cramped up and he sunk like a rock. Humans are out of their element in water.