This will make me think more than twice

[pam]

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- A woman's body might have been left in the cloudy water of a public swimming pool for more than two days, without lifeguards, health inspectors or other swimmers noticing it, officials said Thursday.

Woman's Dead Body Found In Massachusetts Public Pool After 2 Days

This would be very traumatic for me if I found out I had been swimming in this pool. This will make me think more than twice about getting into a swimming pool with murky water.

[applepansy]

I'm speechless.

[Jenamarie]

I'm amazed anybody was allowed to swim in it at all!!! When I was a lifeguard, if something went wrong with the filtration system and the water got too murky, the pool was CLOSED. You cannot safely monitor people swimming if you can't see them once they go underwater.

And I'd be totally creeped out too if I realized I'd been swimming in a pool with a dead body. AND grossed out, considering what the body does when it dies.

I will be *so* surprised if somebody doesn't file a lawsuit about this. Not only did a woman die, but several people were put at risk (both of drowning and getting seriously sick) because the pool wasn't shut down when the water got that murkey.

ETA: And the article says the woman was from Haiti, which means she was very likely a black woman. That water had to be REALLY cloudy then, to not be able to see someone with very dark skin at the bottom! SO not safe!

Edited July 3, 2011 by Jenamarie

[Backroads]

My lifeguard and aquatics director training is screaming at me this is wrong. At camp I'd close the lakefront the moment the shadows reached a certain point.

Not to mention this is just plain creepy...

[dahlia]

I saw her picture, but didn't read in previous accounts that the water was murky. Yes, she was dark skinned. I don't know how anyone could have missed a full-grown, dark skinned woman, in the pool.

My father had a case of a little boy who drowned in a public pool. The kids in the pool realized something was wrong and tried to find a guard - but the young life guards were all on the other side of the fence socializing. They brought up the boy, resuscitated him, but he had brain damage and died a few days later. Terrible story; one that has stayed with me because it was an early lesson in realizing that you can't trust the people who are supposed to be in charge.

If the water was murky, how the heck did they allow people to swim in it? Who would want to swim in it? Eww.

[KellyLC]

If someone had checked the filtration system the second they saw a problem, found the damage and fixed it, this tragedy would never have happened.

I hate hearing about stories like this. My thoughts and prayers go out to this woman's friends and loved ones. I personally feel the lifeguard needs to be fired and put in jail for negligence.

Edited July 4, 2011 by KellyLC

[pam]

It's not off topic. There was for sure something wrong with having murky water in a public swimming pool. Even if this had not happened, the murky water should have been a red flag of other potential health risks.

[Backroads]

Basic rule of life guarding: You NEED to be able to see those under your care.

Dahlia, that story breaks my heart! As does this.

[PrinceofLight2000]

Thanks Pam, I'm sick to my stomach now. I want my appetite back.

[Guest Sachi001]

I was a lifeguard. The pool I worked on was Olympic size with diving platforms. We could see everything and the filtration system was underground with viewing windows. I cannot see this happening even with surface viewing for 2 days. The only excuse was the guards were goofing off and never even watched the public at all.

They should in fact be held under arrest for dereliction of duty. Can you do that?