Due to the Labor Day holiday, the park is full and was not closed for work | Photo: Reproduction / Social networks
A 40 year old man had a cardiorespiratory arrest after drowning in the lake at Parque Municipal Renné Giannetti, in the hypercenter of Belo Horizonte, on the morning of this Wednesday (May 1st), the Labor Day holiday. The victim was rescued by park goers, who were in a boat at the time of the drowning.
Popular video shows the moment in which three men remove the victim from the lake. Then, two doctors who were at the scene began resuscitation maneuvers until firefighters arrived. See the moment of rescue:
According to Cadet Lucas, from the Fire Department, around 11:30 am this Wednesday (1), the garrison was called to carry out the rescue. “When we arrived here at the park, we found two doctors and a nursing technician carrying out resuscitation maneuvers. We took over and used oxygen on the victim. The heart started beating again and he was taken to João XXIII hospital in stable condition”, he reported.
Also according to the military, witnesses said that the man showed signs of drunkenness and entered the lake of his own free will. “He was swimming when, apparently, he got his foot stuck in the mud at the bottom of the lake. Luckily, a worker here at the park, you have to be trained in lifeguards, you did the rescue”, he added.
The man was taken to João XXIII Hospital after the cardiac arrest was reversed.
Due to the Labor Day holiday, the park is full and was not closed for work. In a statement, Belo Horizonte City Hall reported that a team from Samu took the man to the hospital. The operation of the park was not affected, and the site remains open normally.
Seller claims case is not the first
Having been selling ice cream in the park for more than 30 years, Ederson Vieira, 60, said he saw the moment when everything happened. “I believe he was submerged for about 5 minutes. When the lifeguard jumped in, he quickly pulled him out and began the rescue,” he said.
According to him, this is not the first drowning he has witnessed. “I’ve seen this happen several times. People jump and end up drowning. Generally, they’re homeless people, they jump, acting funny, and end up drowning, because their foot gets caught in the mud. They sink and have no strength to remove their foot. from there,” he said.
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