Tragedy in Sahara sams

↑ 1untamedgirl ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 1:22 am

tweety1 wrote:

You're so right. But here, we, the people, of flesh and bone, come in naturally so with all the could've's, should've's, would've's. It's an only natural response to tragedy.

Yes but I am getting tired of hearing these stories and then people saying could've, should've, would've.
And this is for minor things as well that could lead to fatalities. For example, I was in the park the other day and watched a group of young bochurim play ball. It was very hot outside yet some of them were wearing jackets and they had no drinking water with them. These boys could get dehydrated playing ball in their jackets on a hot summer day but no of the counselors even considered telling them to take the jackets off or to drink water. Where is the responsible parents and teachers to ensure that these kids dont get dehydrated? Or is it that they dont care to take any precautions because nothing happened? Yet? Why wait til its too late?
Parents, make sure your kids take off their jackets and take water with them if they go to the park so they should stay hydrated. Dont wait for tragedy to strike, just do it even if your kid says they dont want it or need it. Teach your kids safety protocols in all situations even if you have to spend money to hire a boy/girl scout leader to teach them survival skills.

↑ hot chocolate! ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 1:25 am

I wonder if ccamps will stop these trips. I dont think so. Its a natural knee-jerk reaction to wanna
Fix things after tragedies. , ( and im a real paranoid type !) But, water parks can be safe. For the right age, and of course with buddies ,more lifeguards, better lighting etc. (Id love it if they just go to regular ultra safe places,but it just aint happening 2019. Helicopter rodes anyone? Yeah its the norm )We have to do our limited hishtadlus, but really ", everything is safe , and nothing is safe." Its all in Hashems hands.
But I agree that water park trips need some more organizing. I Remember the chaos and confusion , I had even as a teen! When we'd go to huge water parks, rented out by multiple frum camps. Id inevitably get lost in tbe throngs of girls,and in the near darkness.
Hashem give us all nechama !

↑ 1untamedgirl ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 1:36 am

hot chocolate! wrote:

You dont stop going but have the buddy system in place, with the lifeguard whistling randomly several times throughout the visit so that everyone stops and finds their buddies and do this again once they have to leave the pool. Also, take along hatzola members and parents who are lifeguard just to have an extra hands and eyes in place. And make sure that every kid knows how to swim in the deep water (there is a test for it) even if they are just going in the kiddie pool and if they dont pass the deep water test then they have to wear a life jacket the entire time they are in the park. These are some of the precautions we can take perhaps other people have other ideas on how to keep everyone safe without locking them up in a bubble and never letting them out again.

↑ hot chocolate!

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 1:39 am

1untamedgirl wrote:

Yes. I particularly think life vests are a great idea.

↑ creditcards ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 2:01 am

Rr2 wrote:

My son watched it happen. The boy was getting dressed and fell in. The boys yelled for the lifeguard who jumped in. This is my sons version which is probably true.

They said they found his bag of clothing and didn't know whose it is. Then they found a name inside and went looking for the boy and found him in the kiddie pool.

tulips12

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 5:18 am

tweety1 wrote:

I know I hate hate hate it with all my heart. If it's upto me they wouldn't be going. But then I keep on thinking it's only me cuz I'm a maniac, high strung type.

And in reality it's lots of parents. The trips need to be age appropriate. Not just because you need a certain amount of kids to fill up a park you take the whole camp.

Last edited by tulips12 on Wed, Jul 31 2019, 5:31 am; edited 1 time in total

↑ tweety1 ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 6:51 am

tulips12 wrote:

And in reality it's lots of parents. The trips need to be age appropriate. Not just because you need a certain amount of kids to fill up a park you take the whole camp.

Tell me why in the world theyre taking kitah gimmel or daled even boys to such trips?? Theyre way too young for this if you ask me

cnc ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 7:17 am

Rr2 wrote:

My son watched it happen. The boy was getting dressed and fell in. The boys yelled for the lifeguard who jumped in. This is my sons version which is probably true.

This is not accurate.
And if you were ever at Sahara Sam , then you’ll know this isn’t possible. The dressing area is nowhere near the water .

A body was found that needed to be identified .

↑ cnc ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 7:18 am

Angel wrote:

Am trying to figure out:
If 7pm the boys were on the buses heading back, the boy was foud missing, then was it a late night trip or not?

My thoughts are with the family

The boys were not on the bus. They were getting dressed . And yes it’s a late night trip . It’s a 2 hour ride home or so ...

myself

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 8:16 am

IME there are way too few lifeguards at water parks. DH joined a group at one time and he said the lifeguards were busy pulling out kids all the time, it was scary.

One of my own kids was struggling to get up after he landed in a pool from the slide and DH quickly yanked him out. There was no lifeguard nearby. I personally wouldn't send a child without a parent unless s/he is really tall and water confident. Unfortunately there's a reason these places require attendees to sign a waiver.

What a very sad story Sad

Baruch Dayan Ha'emes.

Do camps regularly do grand trips in the three weeks? It's a really scary time...

studying_torah ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 8:16 am

It's scary what goes on by trip day. Ds was once lost in an amusement park- because please let 10 yr old boys wander around by themselves.
Thankfully he had the sense to ask a park worker where to go, but he said other kids were lost & didn't ask.

One of my other kids left his drinks on the bus & the staff refused to get him any more - on a 100 degree day on a trip.
Not to mention sitting 2 plus hours on no a/c school buses to get to the trip.
He got home so dehydrated.

PinkFridge

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 8:33 am

karat wrote:

IDK
I do know that many of these lifeguards who work in the summer are very young-some are only teens.

Some teens are experienced, or will react appropriately to a challenge. I personally can attest to this.
I don't know what happened. I'm only on p. 4. I just want to stress that the lifeguards might have been adequate in numbers and appropriately vigilant for all I know.

↑ karat ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 8:33 am

There is a WhatsApp clip going around describing what occurred.
After the kids were sent out of the pools and the park closed the lifeguards scanned the pools and found the body.
It seems the kid drowned and nobody noticed.
Nebuch

Last edited by karat on Wed, Jul 31 2019, 8:35 am; edited 1 time in total

nchr ↓

Wed, Jul 31 2019, 8:34 am

Very very sad. An unimaginable tragedy for the parents. Generally, however, water parks are safer than pools because they tend to be over staffed and very on top of things. This does not negate the tragedy. I've personally seen some of the most responsible lifeguarding at Kalahari. Obviously you still need to be vigilant about swimming and being around any water. Also keep in mind the diarrhea.

Pools are so dangerous and children in the US pass away all summer from pools, including good swimmers. Someone I know visited someone in the ER a few weeks ago when a hysterical mother in a bathing suit came in with her dead toddler crying inconsolably that her daughter was a good swimmer. So please keep this in mind and talk to your children about safe swimming.