2 Boys Die in L.A. River Whirlpool

Rescue divers pulled two boys, one dead and one who would soon die, from a murky whirlpool in the Los Angeles River in Long Beach on Wednesday.

The two were seen clinging to a piece of wood about 5:30 p.m. near the Anaheim Street Bridge. Rescuers swarmed to the scene within three minutes, but it took an additional 20 minutes to get scuba divers tethered to a lifeguard boat into the water.

At least six divers groped in the muck in a grid pattern in the nearly opaque water as helicopter lights and spotlights mounted on the bridge were aimed at the operation.

They found the first boy, Ray Wells, 8, of Long Beach, at 6 p.m. in water eight to 10 feet deep. He was not breathing as divers put him on a long board and paddled to shore. A paramedic rushed him to an ambulance that took him to Saint Mary Medical Center.

He was pronounced dead 22 minutes later.

The body of the second boy, Derrick Ash, 9, of Long Beach, was found by divers 2 1/2 hours later.

“We found their ‘Razor’ scooters parked on a rocky berm beside the river,” said Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Bob Caldon.

The boys apparently had been walking on rocks near the water, Fire Department spokesman Paul Wawrzynski said .

“We’re assuming at this point that they slipped and fell and were unable to swim. Divers said there was a slight current, but it wasn’t as bad as it can be in this area.”

The stretch of river where the boys were found is easily accessible. A hiking trail runs parallel to the waterway, and a chain-link fence separating the channel from nearby roadways is full of holes.

“The water down there has a powerful swirling undertow that holds debris on the bottom,” Caldon said. “It’s extremely dangerous, especially for children.”

An average of six drownings a year occur in the county’s more than 600 miles of flood-control channels. Victims are often pulled to the middle because slower-moving water along the side moves to the middle in a circular motion.

“I realize there are bike paths on the riverbed, but if children use them, they need adult supervision, because this is not a playground, it’s a dangerous place,” said fire Capt. Mike Garcia.

“We’re not even into the wet part of the year yet, when this water is flowing hard and treacherous,” he said.

“So there’s a message here: Anything can attract a child to the water’s edge, and that’s where the tragedy always occurs.”

It was the second tragedy in local waters this week. On Monday night, a pleasure boat returning six people from a family outing at Santa Catalina Island struck a buoy and began sinking. Rescuers quickly reached four of them, but 8-year-old Donta Perry and his 66-year-old grandmother, Mildred Griffin, were trapped inside the water-filled cabin for a time.

Donta died several hours later at a hospital, and Griffin remained in very critical condition Wednesday night.