A mother drowned in front of her six children moments after she jumped into the freezing water.
The devastating incident occurred around 5:30 pm in Lake Tahoe on Friday night.
The mother-of-six, who wasn’t wearing a life vest, jumped into the water for a dip. But when she became troubled, her husband went into the freezing water to try to save her.
As the father tried to rescue the drowning mother, their vessel drifted away from the shore with the six kids on board, MyNews4 reported.
The US Coast Guard and Marine 24 responded after the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District received reports of the incident.
The boat was later found hours later after people heard the children shouting for help. Officers arrived and found the husband suffering from ‘severe hypothermia.’
The father and the children were rushed to a hospital suffering from different levels of hypothermia.
However, the mother’s body was found after 9 pm and she was pronounced dead.
Tahoe Douglas Fire wrote on Twitter: “Tragedy on #Tahoe #drowning Female drowns man jumps in to save her has a life vest on, he suffers severe hypothermia.
“The boat was a drift with six kids on board in middle of Lake by Zephyr Cove. M-24 rescues and transports male & tries to resuscitate woman.”
One person commented: “This is so sad and senseless. So many avoidable mistakes that they can never undo – swimming without a life vest, not testing the water temp, having the second adult go into the water instead of throwing a life preserver, not anchoring…. I’m so sorry for this family.”
Another wrote: “The water in Lake Tahoe is very frigid, unless you swim at an area called ‘Sandy Beach,’ but not even there this late in the season. I’ve always seen water skiers and divers wearing wet suits when recreating in the lake’s depths.”
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this story with your friends and family!
Replaced!