Illinois girl, 5, dies in Tinley Park waterpark

Girl suspected to have died from drowning as investigators conduct autopsy

A five-year-old girl was declared dead after she was found unresponsive in a pool at a waterpark in Tinley Park, Illinois.

The emergency crew responded to a call at White Water Canyon Water Park Friday afternoon at around 4.20pm after the girl was retrieved from the pool.

Lifeguards and paramedics immediately performed CPR and other life-saving measures at the scene before she was taken to Silver Cross Hospital.

She was declared dead 5.12pm local time at the hospital, according to the Will County Coroner’s office.

“The Tinley Park Police Department is investigating the incident,” the office said in an update.

“An autopsy will be performed on Saturday, July 1st 2023. The final cause and manner of death will be determined after police, autopsy, and toxicological reports are completed.”

The waterpark remained shut on Saturday and opened on Sunday from 11.30am for members of the public, White Water Canyon Water Park said in a Facebook post.

The cause of the girl’s death remains unknown.

The Tinley Park District which manages the waterpark extended condolences to the family.

“The Tinley Park-Park District Board Commissioners and entire Park District staff extend our heartfelt condolences to the family who lost their loved one yesterday. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time,” it said.

The girl arrived at the water park with at least three adults, reported CBC News. It said the girl is suspected to have died from drowning but the park district has not revealed how long the girl was underwater before she was first noticed by lifeguards.

The incident comes just two days after a six-year-old boy died at Fun-Plex Waterpark in Omaha, Nebraska. The boy from Sioux City, Iowa died after drowning in a pool in the waterpark on 25 June, the family said according to a GoFundMe page.