Soon the father heard the girls cry for help and jumped in the lake hoping to save them. His son Zach also jumped in to help but they, too, were being shocked by an electric current that was transferring into the water through the metal ladder.
Jimmy Johnson, who works in electronic repairs, realized they were being shocked and managed to shout for his wife to cut the power to the dock. But, Carmen Johnson didn’t survive.
„If my husband hadn’t went into the water, we wouldn’t have known what was going on,“ Casey Johnson said. Because electric shock drowning typically doesn’t leave visible proof on victims‘ bodies, it’s unlikely anyone would have known about the electrocution if others hadn’t been in the water and felt the shock. The electrocution can paralyze swimmers, making it difficult for them to get out of the water.
Jorge Martín, a spokesman for the civil guard in Spain, said by telephone on Friday that the water was about six and a half feet deep at the pool’s deepest point.
An initial report that a resort employee who entered the pool during the episode had also struggled to get out suggested that there might have been a problem with the pool’s filtration or drainage systems, Mr. Martín said.