It only took a few seconds for little Xavier, 4, to escape from his parents' apartment and fall into the swimming pool of the residential complex, then unsupervised.
Luckily, he escaped the worst thanks to the intervention of two neighbors.
Wednesday, May 18, this boy with autism fell into the swimming pool of his residence, after having escaped the vigilance of his mother.
Luckily, Maddox Westerhaus, a teenager present on the scene and living in the residence, witnesses the scene with a friend.
“I saw it, because my friends were yelling at me to get help,” he explained during a press conference organized Thursday, May 26 by rescuers. from the city.
Neither one nor two, Maddox leaves to seek help while running.
The housing estate's surveillance cameras captured footage of this incredible rescue, showing how Tom Westerhaus, Maddox's father, saved Xavier's life.
3 minutes 22 seconds underwater
It will be exactly 3 minutes and 22 seconds before Tom Westerhaus arrives on the scene, and dives into the pool to pull the little boy out of the water.
Xavier, then unconscious, is resuscitated thanks to first aid and cardiac massage.
2 minutes and 44 seconds later, Xavier miraculously regains consciousness.
"They clearly saved [the] four-year-old boy's life," said Lawrence-Dougles County Lifeguard Squad Chief Rob Fleeup.
Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among people under 25.
According to Public Health France, most drownings of children under 6 are due to the fact that the child does not know how to swim, coupled with a lack or relaxation of supervision by the responsible adult during swimming.
Alexis, Maddox's mother, had gone away for just a few minutes to take care of her crying 4-month-old baby girl.
Children with autism are 160 times more likely to drown, according to an American study published in 2017 by the Faculty of Public Health at Columbia University.
