RIVERTON, Utah -- A 13-month-old child is in critical condition after he fell head-first into a cooler and was submerged in up to 6-inches of water for several minutes in Riverton Wednesday morning.
Ken Hansen of the Unified Police Department said police and fire personnel responded to a home in the area of 13600 South 2200 West in Riverton around 10 a.m.
Hansen said the child had reportedly fallen head-first into a cooler that had water inside of it and started drowning.
"He fell into that and was submerged in the water for four or five minutes," Hansen said.
Even with a small amount of water in the cooler, police said the child struggled to get out.
"This is just six inches of water, in a square cooler that made it more difficult for the child to try and get out," Hansen said.
Family members pulled the child from the cooler after discovering what happened, and they provided CPR. The child was stabilized and flown to Primary Children's Hospital.
The child was listed as being in critical condition, Hansen said.
SafeKids.org notes that babies can drown in as little as one inch of water, and they encourage parents to empty all tubs, buckets, wading pools and other containers immediately after use. They also recommend storing such containers upside down and out of children's reach.
Click here for more tips on water safety from SafeKids.org.
Police originally provided a different address and said the incident was in Herriman, but later they corrected that information and gave the location as a residence in Riverton.
