Child, Father Drown At Pool Party; 3 More Injured

A 7-year-old girl and her father are dead while three others were injured Saturday after a drowning incident at a pool party in Charles County, Maryland, police said.

Authorities were responding to a call just before 6 p.m. at a residence in the 1200 block of Jefferson Lane in Waldorf when they spotted and attempted to rescue three drowning victims at the bottom of a pool, the Charles County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Police identified two of the victims as 44-year-old Haffis Olanrewaju Agboola from Hyattsville and his daughter, Christian Omofolawe Agboola. Authorities have not revealed the identity of the third victim, a 17-year-old boy who had jumped in to help, as of press time.

The initial investigation of the incident revealed that the homeowners were hosting a birthday party and the victims were guests.

"During the party, the seven-year-old girl jumped into an in-ground pool, which was uncovered and open," police said in the statement. "According to family, she did not know how to swim."

Haffis reportedly jumped in to rescue his daughter, but he was also unable to swim, police said. Upon seeing the situation unfold, the 17-year-old male also jumped into the pool and attempted to help.

"All three victims took on too much water and drowned," according to the police statement.

Police said fire and EMS responders rescued all three victims, and first responders performed CPR on them.

"I seen them trying to take off their gear and jump in the water," a neighbor was quoted by WRC-TV as saying. "Oh my goodness, it was just sad."

The victims were transported to the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, where the father and daughter were pronounced dead. The 17-year-old male was flown to Children's Hospital Center in critical condition.

According to the statement, two fire and EMS responders had also taken in too much water during the rescue attempt and were transported to the hospital, but they were treated and later released.

The investigation on the incident is ongoing, police said.