3 year old
twins who attended a social gathering with their parents have died. The twins
attended the gathering with their parents and older sister and after lunch were
allowed to go play outside with the others kids present at the gathering, said
the county's deputy coroner, Don McCown.
Ezekiel
Marcengill died a day after he was found
in the bottom of a backyard swimming pool with his twin brother. His twin
brother, Caleb Marcengill of Westminster, S.C., was pronounced dead Saturday
afternoon after he was rushed to Greenville Memorial Hospital, . His brother,
Ezekiel who had been on life support died Sunday afternoon.
Their deaths
were ruled accidental drownings, according to the coroner's office.
At about 2
pm, the twins' older sister went outside and found them under water in the pool
of their guest's home, she screamed for their parents who rushed to the scene
immediately. The boys had probably been underwater for about 15 to 20mins.
Family
members attempted CPR until emergency services arrived. Caleb was pronounced
dead at 3:21 p.m. Saturday; Ezekiel died about 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Their
father, Brandon Marcengill, urged everyone to hug their loved ones.
"Hold
them tight," he said Sunday. "You protect your kids as best as you
can. They reach an age where they can run around and play. How do you defend
against everything?"
A key was
needed to unlock the gate for access to the above-ground pool. The boys' older
sister used the key when she found her siblings.
The twins
apparently crawled under the fence or possibly climbed over it, McCown said.
"There's
a pretty good gap on one side of the fence and pretty much an adult could've
crawled under it," he said. The pool was 4 feet deep, and the water level
was at 3 feet, 8 inches.
The family
told authorities the boys were just learning how to swim.
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