A young boy is in intensive care after almost drowning in his North Vancouver family's pool over the weekend.
Emergency crews raced to a home on the 800-block of East 11th Street around 6 p.m. Saturday after his grandmother spotted the unresponsive five-year-old in the pool.
"One of the family members was able to retrieve him and do CPR and somebody else called 9-1-1. It all happened very quickly," said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Richard De Jong.
Paramedics rushed the boy to Lions Gate Hospital, but he was quickly transferred to B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.
As of Tuesday morning, the boy's precarious condition had stabilized, according to De Jong.
"He's been upgraded from serious to stable so that's good news on that part, but he'll be in B.C. Children's (Hospital) for some time."
There is no indication how long the youngster had been submerged in the water, or how he got into the gated pool area, De Jong said.
The RCMP does not take a position on what building and fencing requirements should be in place around pools, as that falls under municipal jurisdiction, but the incident is a reminder about the inherent danger that comes with kids and water.
"It's obviously traumatic for everybody there and for all first responders. Victims' services have been actively working with them. It's a horrific event, very unfortunate - and also preventable, and that's the message for everyone with a swimming pool: Be extra vigilant any time of the year," said De Jong.
