14-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Fall River Pond

FALL RIVER (CBS) - A 14-year-old boy has died after being pulled from a pond in Fall River. The teenager went missing while swimming with friends in South Watuppa Pond Tuesday afternoon.

The victim, Eddiel Benitez of Fall River, and his friend, a 13-year-old girl, jumped into the pond from a rocky ledge and immediately showed signs of distress as soon as they entered the water.

Dive crews were able to locate the victim under water and rescuers performed CPR as he was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Rescuers told WBZ-TV it took them 40 minutes to find Benitez.

"The water was quite choppy today, the visability was one to two feet tops for the diver under the water," said District Chief Jason Poissant of Fall River Fire Department. "The search has to go a lot slower when you have minimal visibility."

The two friends had to be attended to by paramedics as well.

"A few people who were with the said victim, I guess one might have fainted or had an asthma attack and the other two kids I think they tried to save the child and they might have taken in a little bit of water," Poissant said.

The female victim and two adult male bystanders who tried to rescue Benitez were taken to St. Anne's Hospital as a precaution. None of them suffered any serious injuries.