Five people, among them three children, were electrocuted at a Turkish water park, BBC News is reporting . All five later died from the incident.
The kids, ages 12, 15, and 17, were playing in a pool when, for reasons not clear as of this writing, an electrical current began flowing through the water. The park’s manager and his son jumped in to help the flailing children; they too were electrocuted.
The five were airlifted to a nearby hospital, where they all later died.
Turkish broadcaster NTV identified the adults as Mehmet Kaya, 58; his son as Kadir Kaya, 30; and the children as Gokay Y?ld?r?m, 12; Nurullah Unluturk, 15; and Mert Kalic, 17.
The incident took place in the town of Akyazi, in Sakarya province, about 65 miles east of Istanbul.
It is unclear, as of this writing, when, or if, the water park will reopen. Meanwhile, authorities are promising a thorough investigation.
Tens of millions of people worldwide visit water parks every year, and deaths and injuries are rare. According to statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (via the New York Times ), about 4.200 people annually visit emergency rooms following water park accidents. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the accident results from riders not properly following safety precautions.
However, in a number of rare, tragic incidents, a few people have died, or have been seriously injured, in water park incidents through no fault of their own.
On August 7, 2016, 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died at Kansas City’s Schlitterbahn water park following a malfunction in the restraint system on the Verruckt water slide, at the time one of the tallest water slides in the world.
. @GovSamBrownback tightening regulations after Caleb Schwab’s death at Schitterbahn https://t.co/0HpI2Czklm pic.twitter.com/5qpkhw46Jk
— WIBW (@wibw) April 24, 2017
As CNN reported at the time, other riders that day had complained that the restraint system wasn’t working properly . Meanwhile, to this day, it remains unclear how, exactly, Caleb died. The family recently settled with the water park and the water slide’s manufacturer for $20 million , according to the Kansas City Star .
#BreakingNews WHO is being held responsible for 10-year-old Caleb Schwab’s death @Schlitterbahn KCK & for how much via @KCStar @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/8uxmxOttR0
— Belinda Post (@Belinda_Post) May 4, 2017
This is a developing story. More information about the deaths at the Turkish water park will be provided as it becomes available.
[Featured Image by MaszaS /Thinkstock]
