Firefighters on Monday responded to a motel in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, where a woman and her two children were in grave condition after being pulled unresponsive from a swimming pool, authorities said.
Preliminary information indicated that the three victims, along with a man and two other children, were at the swimming pool of the Hollywood Premiere Motel, located in the 5300 block of Hollywood Boulevard, about 3:34 p.m. when two of the children wandered into the 7 1/2-foot deep end, according to Brian Humphrey, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
No lifeguard was present at the time, Humphrey said on the LAFD’s alert blog.
The 36-year-old woman, dressed in street clothes, attempted to rescue the children, who were in distress, the Fire Department said. The children were described as a boy and girl, approximately 11 and 12 years old, respectively.
“Although she couldn’t swim, she attempted to save them and she to was quickly overcome,” said Sgt. Barry Montgomery with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Two other children in the pool started screaming, attracting the attention of a good Samaritan, Montgomery said.
The unidentified man pulled all three out of the pool and was attempting to resuscitate them when LAFD personnel arrived, officials said. The victims showed no signs of pulses and were not breathing at the time.
He told fire officials that he learned CPR just last week.
The woman and children were transported to area hospitals, authorities said, and the LAFD was “offering emotional support” to the man and the two other children at the scene. The relationship between the two adults and four children was not immediately clear.
By Monday night, a small makeshift shrine of candles had appeared near the pool, where area residents were gathering.
“Pray for them and the family … and all the ones that tried to help them,” said nearby resident Emma Danoff.
KTLA’s Kennedy Ryan contributed to this story.