News Release from: Gaston Fire Dist.
EIGHT CHILDREN SAVED FROM DROWNING AT HAGG LAKE
Posted: September 15th, 2012 10:24 PM
People enjoying a quiet family reunion at Hagg Lake on Saturday afternoon suddenly found themselves rescuing eight children in danger of drowning.
The children, ranging in age from 6 to 13, were wading in the lake when they stepped off a steep drop-off formed by the channel of Sain Creek.
Hearing the yells from the children and their family, people at the nearby family reunion responded immediately. Those family members included Evan Gibson of Hillsboro and siblings April MacLean and her husband, Lorne, of Hillsboro; Lura Kirby of Virginia; Michelle Rushing of Vancouver, Washington; and nephew Eric MacLean of Hillsboro.
Pulling the children out and "passing them up hand to hand to shore," according to Lura Kirby, the family thought all the children were accounted for until the rescued children yelled "one more, one more," and Michelle Rushing stepped on a child at the bottom of the lake. She and her nephew pulled that child to safety as well.
The rescuers said that two of the children were not breathing when pulled to shore. Several members of the family know CPR and were prepared to perform it, but both children began breathing again on their own before crews from the Gaston Rural Fire District, Washington County Sheriff's Office and Metro West Ambulance arrived.
All eight children were transported by ambulance to local hospitals with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries.
The picnic area where there incident occurred has a life-jacket loaner station maintained by the Safe Kids Coalition of Washington County and the Gaston Rural Fire District. The kiosk was the scene of frequent thefts earlier this summer, but was stocked with life jackets as the tragedy unfolded. None of the rescued children was wearing a flotation device.
Officials from the Safe Kids Coalition and the Gaston Rural Fire District urge parents to ensure that children have approved life jackets when they are in or near waterways. Hagg Lake has many hidden drop-offs and currents that can endanger even expert swimmers.
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