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A 2-year-old girl died Monday afternoon after she was found floating in her backyard pool in west Phoenix.
Melanie Perron's grandfather and father were at the home in the 10700 block of West Campbell Avenue when they lost track of her at about 3:15 p.m., Phoenix Fire Department Division Chief Bob Khan said.
Melody could have been in the water for more than 10 minutes, Khan said.
The grandfather performed CPR on her, and she was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. She was pronounced dead at 4:15 p.m.
Khan said there is no barrier around the pool, but the family usually keeps the doors leading to the back yard locked.
"But apparently, they were left open this time," Khan said. "She walked right out into the back yard . "
The drowning is the 50th water-related incident this year; 33 of those have involved children younger than 5. Overall, 11 people have drowned; seven of those were children.
"A lot of the fatalities we've seen this year were because kids have gotten access to the back yard through patio doors, sliding doors or doggie doors," Khan said.
VALLEY & STATE NEWS / IN BRIEF
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Reproduced with permission from: The Arizona Republic ©Copyright 1999 Arizona Republic |
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