3 Near-Drowning Victims Recovering

Two 13-month-old twin girls and a 3-year-old boy who nearly drowned in backyard swimming accidents in Anaheim on Thursday were released from hospitals Friday.

Relatives told rescuers they had left the twins, Kaley and Kiley Lopez, unattended for only a few minutes Thursday when the toddlers strayed and fell into the family pool, said Fire Department spokeswoman Robyn Butler.

The girls’ aunt, Diana Lopez, found them floating face down in the backyard pool and pulled them out, Butler said. Their uncle, Rubin Lopez, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until firefighters arrived shortly after 6 p.m.

The girls were released from Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange, Butler said.

The 3-year-old, Jacob Debilio, who was found floating in his family’s 3 1/2-foot-deep spa Thursday, was released from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Anaheim, Butler said.

Jacob, who was allowed to play in the backyard spa, did not know how to swim, Butler said. An adult saw the child floating and pulled him from the water. When paramedics arrived, the boy was very pale with shallow breathing, Butler said.

Within the last two months, three children and an adult have drowned in Orange County. Pool drownings are the leading cause of death for young children.