NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- On the surface, things may look harmless but sometimes it's what you don't see that could end up costing someone their life.
Already some spring breakers are testing the water. However, at a South Carolina resort, officials say a 12-year-old boy went for a dip in the lazy river and almost never came back up.
"I ran into the garage to try and find maintenance workers to get them to shut off the pumps," said Tiffany Perez, who witnessed the chaotic scene.
"The child is stuck in the drain at the pool," said the North Myrtle Beach Fire Dispatcher.
"Copy. Did you say the child is stuck in the drain?" responded an emergency responder.
"Affirmative. The child is stuck in the drain," said the dispatcher.
"Without hesitation, several of them jumped right in and started to work on the boy," Perez said.
The young boy's leg was apparently sucked into the suction line of the lazy river.
"Out of the water...is he breathing or not?" asked the dispatcher.
"I copy. The child is out and breathing," said the emergency responder.
Thankfully the boy survived, but that's not always the case.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, from 2008 to 2012, 39 people in the U.S. were victims of drain entrapments.
It's not just in pools. About a third of the incidents happened in spa drains and 21 percent in whirlpool tubs.
In 2013, police say music megastar Usher's son fell to the bottom of the pool where he became stuck in the drain.
Usher's son survived, but unfortunately, Karen Cohn's son Zac did not. He drowned in a pool drain accident. Since then the family has started the Zac Foundation to increase pool safety awareness.
"And then D is for Drain safety," said Karen Cohn. "A is for adult supervision. B is for barriers around pools and bodies of water. C is for classes."