Two teenage swimmers were pronounced dead at area hospitals Thursday night after rescuers pulled them from the Union Ship Canal in South Buffalo.
The two, a male and a female, were underwater for at least 25 minutes before Buffalo police divers found them, authorities said. The boy, from Lackawanna, was taken to Buffalo General Medical Center and the girl to Mercy Hospital. CPR was administered to both of them.
Police received several emergency calls beginning at 8:18 p.m., said Battalion Chief Michael J. Swanekamp of the Buffalo Fire Department. The calls first reported that young swimmers were struggling in the water and then disappeared underwater, and had not surfaced.
Dozens of emergency vehicles and numerous rescue boats from Buffalo, Lackawanna, Hamburg and the Coast Guard rushed to the scene, near the Lackawanna city line. Scuba divers Leo McGrath and Michael A. Delong of the Buffalo Police Underwater Recovery Team found the two victims deep underwater after a 19-minute search, Swanekamp said. He said a rescue ladder indicated that the water was at least 18 feet deep, with an additional 8 feet of “muck” at the bottom.
The two did not appear to be responsive as they were pulled out of the water and given CPR.
After the teens were taken to the two hospitals, a distraught woman ran up to police and fire officials in tears and asked, “Where is my son?” She also inquired about the teens’ condition and told them that her son was 17 and that his swimming companion, 16, was his girlfriend.
A woman who saw the teens struggling and contacted police said they looked as if they had been swimming for some time. She declined to give her name. She said the two teens were jumping in the canal and climbing up a ladder on the side. The canal is blocked by a fence in the area where the teens were found; they would have had to climb over the fence to enter the water there.
Ron Delano of Buffalo said he was a distance away when he noticed the male struggling in the water at least 10 feet from the wall. He did not see the female.
He said he saw an older person dive from a nearby bridge in an apparent attempt to rescue the two. But then that person began struggling, as well, and swam to the side to hang on.
Swanekamp said the third swimmer was able to help rescuers find the victims faster.
The site has prompted previous concerns by officials. “Kids want to cool off,” Swanekamp said. “They’ll find any place they can.”
email: lhammill@buffnews.com
The two, a male and a female, were underwater for at least 25 minutes before Buffalo police divers found them, authorities said. The boy, from Lackawanna, was taken to Buffalo General Medical Center and the girl to Mercy Hospital. CPR was administered to both of them.
Police received several emergency calls beginning at 8:18 p.m., said Battalion Chief Michael J. Swanekamp of the Buffalo Fire Department. The calls first reported that young swimmers were struggling in the water and then disappeared underwater, and had not surfaced.
Dozens of emergency vehicles and numerous rescue boats from Buffalo, Lackawanna, Hamburg and the Coast Guard rushed to the scene, near the Lackawanna city line. Scuba divers Leo McGrath and Michael A. Delong of the Buffalo Police Underwater Recovery Team found the two victims deep underwater after a 19-minute search, Swanekamp said. He said a rescue ladder indicated that the water was at least 18 feet deep, with an additional 8 feet of “muck” at the bottom.
The two did not appear to be responsive as they were pulled out of the water and given CPR.
After the teens were taken to the two hospitals, a distraught woman ran up to police and fire officials in tears and asked, “Where is my son?” She also inquired about the teens’ condition and told them that her son was 17 and that his swimming companion, 16, was his girlfriend.
A woman who saw the teens struggling and contacted police said they looked as if they had been swimming for some time. She declined to give her name. She said the two teens were jumping in the canal and climbing up a ladder on the side. The canal is blocked by a fence in the area where the teens were found; they would have had to climb over the fence to enter the water there.
Ron Delano of Buffalo said he was a distance away when he noticed the male struggling in the water at least 10 feet from the wall. He did not see the female.
He said he saw an older person dive from a nearby bridge in an apparent attempt to rescue the two. But then that person began struggling, as well, and swam to the side to hang on.
Swanekamp said the third swimmer was able to help rescuers find the victims faster.
The site has prompted previous concerns by officials. “Kids want to cool off,” Swanekamp said. “They’ll find any place they can.”
email: lhammill@buffnews.com
