Toddler Drowns at Fountain Valley Park

A 2-year-old boy drowned in a small Fountain Valley lake Monday after wandering away from a family picnic, authorities said.

Husni Khalil of Fountain Valley was found floating face down in the south fishing pond at Mile Square Regional Park about 2:30 p.m., investigators said.

“When we arrived, there was pandemonium,” said Battalion Chief Craig Laser, a spokesman for the Fountain Valley Fire Department, which was called to the scene. “People were absolutely out of their minds with grief.”

Family members at a gathering of about 20 relatives noticed that the little boy was missing, Laser said. “They looked around for two to five minutes, then discovered him floating face down on the far side of the lake,” he said. “They made their way to the child, who was dressed in a diaper, and attempted to administer CPR while the paramedics were en route.”

The child was not breathing and had no pulse when rescuers pulled him from the pond, Laser said. Paramedics took him to the emergency room at nearby Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, where a team of doctors tried to resuscitate him but was unsuccessful. The toddler was pronounced dead at 3:14 p.m., Laser said.

“They did what they do best and made every effort to resuscitate the little boy,” he said. “They worked on him for quite awhile. It’s very tragic.”

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Park Tragedy

A 2-year-old boy drowned Monday in the South Pond at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley.