Children die playing with scuba gear left in pool - Jensen Beach, Florida

[BoltSnap]

When I am teaching "adults" to scuba dive, I never turn my back to the students when they are on scuba let alone leave children alone in a pool with scuba equipment available for them to use in the pool and walk away from them to where I can't watch them. I would NEVER leave my students alone in the water even if I had to go to the restroom during class, I'd get them out of the water away from the pool's edge first (If I can't hold it until end of the lesson). This is nuts.

 

[nolatom]

Tragic.
Without knowing more, I think law enforcement and DA would look on the family with sympathy and not as criminals. Jensen Beach ain't New York or Cali, more of a live and let live atmosphere.
The parents are going to punish themselves much more than the law would have.

 

[diverlee]

Heartbreaking. Terrible accident. My heart goes out to the parents.

 

[DandyDon]

The parents are going to punish themselves much more than the law would have.

True, but this excerpt from Two children dead after found in Jensen Beach pool with a scuba tank

The siblings, described by their father as experienced swimmers and proficient divers, had been to the home before and were given permission to use the pool Friday along with a scuba tank.

If the investigation finds that to be true, it could be serious for them.

 

[formernuke]

Manslaughter and endangering the life of children.

 

[Marie13]

Someone in FL said on another forum that the news is now saying the tank was full of helium. Hypoxic mix? Wonder if it was properly labeled.

 

[Belzelbub]

Someone in FL said on another forum that the news is now saying the tank was full of helium. Hypoxic mix? Wonder if it was properly labeled.

Yes. It’s looking like the Sheriff’s Office is reporting that to the news.

https://www.wptv.com/news/region-ma...ssible-drowning-incident-at-jensen-beach-home

"It's looking like the children were not breathing the oxygen they believe they were breathing. It looks like they were indeed breathing helium. With helium, they would have the sense that they were actually breathing oxygen, so they would feel like they're breathing normally," said Major John Budensiek with the Martin County Sheriff's Office. "They wouldn't get the feeling that they would need to take a breath. So, they would have breathed helium, and because there is no oxygen in helium, ended up in the state that they were in.

 

[Biotech Diver]

Someone in FL said on another forum that the news is now saying the tank was full of helium. Hypoxic mix? Wonder if it was properly labeled.

Unbelievable! This goes beyond being an irresponsible parent and crosses into negligent endangerment or homicide.

 

[CuzzA]

Well a hypoxic mix was my second guess. In the third linked article it stated the adults were testing a scooter. I almost posted that I felt for sure it was the mix that did it because not many divers outside of technical diving use scooters, but I didn't want to go over the top with speculation.

This tears at two emotions. Anger for being so careless to give them a bottle with a mix that can't support life in pool depths and empathy for the parent who lost his kids to such a careless mistake.

I don't support criminal action against the parents unless it could be proven that it was their intent. They have already begun a life sentence. I hope the parents seek out support.

"It's looking like the children were not breathing the oxygen they believe they were breathing. It looks like they were indeed breathing helium. With helium, they would have the sense that they were actually breathing oxygen, so they would feel like they're breathing normally," said Major John Budensiek with the Martin County Sheriff's Office. "They wouldn't get the feeling that they would need to take a breath. So, they would have breathed helium, and because there is no oxygen in helium, ended up in the state that they were in."

 

[OTF]

What a strange awful tragedy.

According to the article it sounds like the tank was intentionally given to the kids to play with unsupervised. I'm all for free range parenting but that's pretty crazy. Especially if someone really did mess up bad enough to give them a tank of hypoxic mix. It seems very unlikely that hypoxic mix really was the cause of death. But plausible I guess.