The Thursday drowning of a 2-year-old Annapolis girl was most likely accidental, county police said Friday.
“Everything is pointing to the fact that this was a tragic, tragic accident,” said spokesman Sgt. Shawn Urbas.
About 10 a.m. Thursday, the girl fell into a pool on the 1200th block of Latrobe Drive, police said.
Two adult relatives were watching the girl when she wandered out of the house and fell onto the cover of the in-ground pool, which was covered in rainwater, police said. Paramedics took her to Anne Arundel Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at about 11 a.m.
Police would not release names of the girl or her relatives on Friday.
About 250 children under age 5 die in swimming pools each year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It reports that among unintentional injuries, drowning is the second leading cause of death, after auto accidents, for children under age 5.
Fire Department officials said water on a pool cover is as dangerous as water in the pool and that standing water should always be removed.
“It?s one of those things that you don?t think about it,” said Division Chief Stuart McNicol, a county fire spokesman.
McNicol said adults should always supervise children around water. He also said pools should have a fence that is at least four feet high with openings smaller than 1.75 inches. Also, gates should be self-closing with a lock that is out of reach to children.
McNicol also recommended that steps and ladders leading to an above-ground pool be secured, locked or removed when the pool is not in use. Parents, guardians and baby-sitters who know CPR should begin mouth to mouth resuscitation immediately and not wait for paramedics in case of emergency, McNicol said.
