http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/family/2013...
> To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)—of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult.
This stat always rubs me the wrong way. It paints the image of a parent watching their child drown, but I imagine it's pretty easy to be within 25 yards of the pool and have no visibility to the pool.
I watched a video of a life guard jumping into a large crowded pool, swimming towards a certain location. Even though I knew somebody is drowning there, my untrained eyes couldn’t spot the drowning person until the life guard almost reached the child. Everyone next to the child was completely oblivious and looked funny at the lifeguard wondering why he is swimming towards them.
There's usually no splashing, hand waving, yelling, or anything like what people normally think drowning looks like.