Three children were shocked last week in a public swimming pool in Philadephia. The three children, two boys and a girl, were conscious at the scene and are in stable condition, according to an Associated Press report.
Firefighters who responded immediately cut power to the pool, and a city fire marshal and representatives from the electric utility PECO and the city's Parks & Recreation and Licenses & Inspections departments also arrived to try to determine the cause.
The pool has been closed indefinitely, as the Philadelphia fire executive chief said that an equipment malfunction could have caused the current.
Area residents said children at the pool had been reporting for the past month or so a sensation of tingling or “pins and needles” when swimming, or especially when using a metal ladder to climb out of the pool, according to a report from CBS Philly.
The AP story said that a lifeguard noticed that a boy "appeared to be in distress" as he held a metal railing while climbing steps in the shallow end, and a girl who held onto the boy's leg also appeared to be hurt. The lifeguard tried to get the boy out of the pool, but detected an electrical current and asked that the power be shut off.
