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SPRINGVILLE — A 14-year-old boy died after drowning during practice for the city water polo team on Monday, said Springville City officials.
The drowning occurred Monday at the Clyde Recreation Center in Springville. The city water polo team was practicing when at about 5:30 p.m. the boy, a second-year player on the team, was treading water during warm-up. Patrick Monney, Springville's director of administrative services, said the boy then went under the water, and it's not uncommon for "water polo kids to go under and sit at the bottom of the pool for a few moments, so nobody was too alarmed."
When the boy didn't come to the surface after a minute, members of the team went to go check on him. Mooney said after no response the coach jumped in, brought the boy up to the deck and began performing CPR.
A lifeguard intervened and was able to resuscitate the boy.
An ambulance arrived about 6 minutes from when he was pulled from the water and transported him to Spanish Fork Hospital. The boy was flown to Primary Children's Hospital where he died that night, Monney said.
"From the moment he was brought up our lifeguards, our staff, the paramedics, everyone that was involved – it was just amazing. They worked diligently and quickly, and there was never a moment where anyone was standing around," Monney said.
The circumstances of the drowning, including the cause, are under investigation. The boy's name has not yet been released.
Monney called the accident a true tragedy. Grief counseling is available to the staff members, witnesses and others who were involved.
