6 Children Drown In River Sinkhole

[Gratiot]

Six teens drowned late Monday after disappearing into a sinkhole on the Red River, leading to a tragedy that Shreveport Fire Chief Brian Crawford called the worst he's ever seen.

Family members told authorities the victims, between the ages of 13 and 18 from three families, didn't know how to swim and were wading in shallow water. They had been in the lake for about 10 minutes near the sandbar at the Charles and Marie Hamel Memorial Park.

They had one life vest.

"One child ventured off into an area that he was unfamiliar with, and some of the other children had gone off with him," Crawford said. "They went into the vicinity of an 18-foot sinkhole. ... And once one started toppling into that sinkhole grabbing a hold of another, trying to save another, eventually seven were pulled into the hole."

A bystander jumped into the water and rescued a 15-year-old, but the other six went under and never resurfaced. The sixth body was recovered nearly three hours later, in water that authorities said was between 18-feet and 25-feet deep

Shreve Port Times


Prayers for the grieving families.

As well as a begging request, for everyone to teach your children how to swim at an early age.

[DefiantSix]

+1. 

We've had the sailboat since my son was 3, and he's taken swim lessons for each of the past 3 years in order to make him qualified to be on it.

[debk]

I can't imagine the pain these families are feeling.


Some of the comments are really hateful....however, though some may sound hateful they are also right.

There were about 20 friends and families, out on a sandbar in the river, and one of the women admitted that none of them could swim!! Those that didn't stand around and watch....jumped in and drowned!

Also the article said "The area where the teens drowned is not a public beach, and trenches had actually been dug to make it more difficult for people to enter the water, Glover said. "

Why? Why? Why would any parent or responsible person....take their children to an area that is potentially deadly to not just their children but to themselves?

Just because a copperhead snake isn't in a cage....and it's laying in your backyard....doesn't mean you walk over and pick the damn thing up to see what it looks like up close and personal.!!

[Thor]

Just because a copperhead snake isn't in a cage....and it's laying in your backyard....doesn't mean you walk over and pick the damn thing up to see what it looks like up close and personal.!!

Sure ya do......... then ya KILL it!!! 

[Thor]

IMO, it's ridiculous for any kid or group of kids to be swimming in any river in the South. Water Moccasins infest them all. They CAN bite someone while under water contrary to any popular belief. I remember a rafting trip down the Loosahatchie, outside of Memphis). Damned things were dropping off of trees, trying to get in the raft and others were swimming up to us trying to get in the raft. That's ONE trip I don't care to repeat!!

[MrsSmith]

I can't imagine the pain these families are feeling.


Some of the comments are really hateful....however, though some may sound hateful they are also right.

There were about 20 friends and families, out on a sandbar in the river, and one of the women admitted that none of them could swim!! Those that didn't stand around and watch....jumped in and drowned!

Also the article said "The area where the teens drowned is not a public beach, and trenches had actually been dug to make it more difficult for people to enter the water, Glover said. "

Why? Why? Why would any parent or responsible person....take their children to an area that is potentially deadly to not just their children but to themselves?

Just because a copperhead snake isn't in a cage....and it's laying in your backyard....doesn't mean you walk over and pick the damn thing up to see what it looks like up close and personal.!!

And without any kind of safety gear...even a bunch of those stupid noodle things might have been enough to keep this tragedy from happening. 

I actually had swimming lessons for years as a kid, even passed my Lifesaving class, but I never take kids to a river or lake without at least some sort of non-inflatable floatie...just in case.  So sad.  Such a terrible waste of life.  And all due to flat stupidity.   

[Ptarmigan]

What a tragedy.