New Jersey Swimming Pool Deaths: Police Say Victims Didn't Appear To Know How To Swim

New Jersey police said last week that the three bodies found in their home’s above-ground swimming pool died from accidental drowning. The victims drowned in the 7-foot section of a mostly shallow pool and it did not "appear that the victims knew how to swim," according to a press release Wednesday.

The bodies of Bharat Patel, 62, his daughter-in-law Nisha Patel, 33, and Nisha Patel’s 8-year-old daughter were found on June 22 by police at their home in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Middlesex County authorities said they believe that Nisha Patel’s daughter was struggling to stay afloat in the pool’s deep section. Nisha Patel and Bharat Patel attempted to save the 8-year-old.

East Brunswick police said they were called to the home after neighbors allegedly heard screaming from the house, believing someone had fallen from the top of the home. Police found the three floating and unresponsive in the above ground pool when they arrived.

“All the deceased were taken out of the pool, CPR was done,” Lt. Frank Sutter told reporters. “They were all pronounced dead in the backyard.”

The family had moved into the home just weeks earlier. The home's previous owner told the New York Post that he never had problems with the pool.

Police have ruled out foul play. The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office also confirmed that the victims were not electrically shocked prior to their deaths after reports that an electrician had been called to the scene.

The New Brunswick Police Department did not immediately respond Monday to International Business Times' request for comment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 2005 and 2014 the U.S. had a yearly average of 3,536 fatal unintentional drownings, which is about 10 deaths per day. The CDC also notes that about 20% of drowning victims are 14 years old or younger.

The World Health Organization notes that drowning is the third-leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide and that an estimated 320,000 people died from drowning in 2016.