BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Doctors at Seattle Children's hospital are working to keep a 7-year-old boy alive after he plummeted 40 feet down a powerful waterfall and was trapped under cold water for 95 minutes.
Bellingham Police Lt. Bob Vander Yacht told KIRO 7 rescuers located the boy in a pool under the falls in Whatcom Creek Tuesday afternoon. The pounding waterfall and strong currents prevented rescuers from reaching the boy, until workers closed a nearby dam, cutting the flow to the falls.
Witnesses say the boy was with his mother and sister on a flat rock at the top of the waterfall. Lt. Bob Vander Yacht says the boy was wading in the strong current of the stream when he lost his footing and was swept downstream. His family called 911 at about 1:15 p.m.
Vincent Feliciano was swimming in the smaller upper-falls area with his 9-year-old son and nephews at the time. He told KIRO 7 he would never allow a child near the larger falls.
“I think there should be a fence right there actually, especially after that," he said.
“There are no caution signs anywhere,” he said, noting that the roaring falls may not be warning enough to prevent the same thing from happening again.
“There should be at least warning signs, beware of this hazardous area!"
Arleen Watkinson, who was raised around Whatcom Falls, says it's impossible to wade in the current above the falls safely. She says anyone could fall into the stream after stepping on a slippery rocks.
“You see people having their photographs taken up there. They’re beautiful photos but it's kind of risky," she said.
Watkinson is hoping a praying the boy survives, but she hopes parents respect the danger of walking or wading above the falls.
"I can't imagine that a little 7-year-old child was out there in the first place,” she said. “I just can't imagine, because it's always slippery there!"
The boy was taken to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Bellingham. He was transferred to Seattle Children's late Tuesday night and is on life support.
KIRO
