Tragedy on a river: 6 teens from 2 families drown

[cory777]

Source: AP

SHREVEPORT, La. — DeKendrix Warner was splashing around in the waist-high waters of the Red River with his cousins and friends, trying to escape the oppressive Louisiana heat, when he stepped off a slippery ledge — and was plunged into water 25-feet deep.

As the 15-year-old kicked and flailed, one cousin rushed to help — and found himself plummeting down the severe drop-off. Then another.

In all, six teenagers tried to save DeKendrix — and each other — but none could swim. Their relatives, all nonswimmers, looked on helplessly as the teens screamed out for help. Six vanished and drowned Monday; DeKendrix was rescued by a bystander.

"I stepped and I started drowning," the boy told The Associated Press Tuesday, speaking in a low voice outside his inner-city Shreveport home, a one-story white clapboard structure with peeling green trim and an unkempt yard.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5inXN1CXTOhU-0FnIPIWglpSm2B6wD9HCCTT00

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[dkf]

1. Do you mainlanders not learn to swim in school?

It was mandatory for us. Of course we are on an island surrounded by water.

[pnwmom]

8. Most schools don't have swimming pools. Did yours? n/t

[aquart]

2. How does he live with that guilt?

Six who went in to help even knowing they couldn't swim. Six that brave and caring. Gone.

Kid is gonna need help. So is the community. This is when religion matters. I hope it works for them.

[polly7]

3. I can't even imagine the terror.

A parent's worst nightmare. I hope this will spark public awareness into the importance of safety in the water and basic swimming skills, even if they have to take children to a pool once a week, somewhere. Just horrible ...

[depakid]

4. El cheapo orange life jacket: $5-$10

[Cronus Protagonist]

5. Sensible advice

Especially in a river where the dangers are rife.

[McCamy Taylor]

6. Teen males have low body fat. They do not float. So, if they can not swim, they die.

Especially in fresh water.

[Cronus Protagonist]

7. I know of some very fat teen males

They would float.

[renate]

9. I read the comments on this story on another news site

As in this article, many people mentioned that it's common for African-American kids to not know how to swim--little access to pools.

(I don't want to make assumptions about this particular group, but the same is almost surely true of any low-income people who try to cool off in the water if they don't have air conditioning.)

The other comments were too disgusting to repeat. No respect for the guilt and grief the adults were already experiencing. It's not like they threw the kids in and said "good luck"--the place where they were wading was thought to be shallow... except for the sudden drop-off where it wasn't.

There are more details in this story than the one I read earlier, though. Poor DeKendrix. What an absolute horrific nightmare. And what brave and unselfish kids who tried to save him and each other. :cry: