VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A 5-year-old Atlanta boy is lucky to be alive after nearly drowning in Florida earlier this week.
Channel 2’s sister station in Orlando, Florida, WFTV, reported that the boy was pulled from the ocean unconscious and not breathing.
The water at Volusia County’s Silver Beach was calm, but the boy went under the water and was found motionless with a head injury by his family.
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Within seconds, two young lifeguards, 16-year-old Dempsey Manhart and 19-year-old Mackenzie Malone, were there to help.
Malone wasn’t able to find a pulse on the boy, so they started CPR.
“To be quite honest, you know, it was just kind of like... it’s our job and like you know, get right going through, and like you know, this is what we trained for,” Manhart told WFTV.
After two rounds of compressions, the boy coughed up water and started crying.
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“It was the best feeling in the world,” Malone said. “The moment he started crying, it was amazing.”
The boy was taken to the hospital for observation and is currently stable.
Beach officials says this should serve as a reminder to always swim in front of manned lifeguard towers, just in case you need help.
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