Boy dies at South Jersey summer camp after drowning in pool

» UPDATE: The 6-year-old who drowned at a South Jersey summer camp was there to take swim lessons, mother says

A 6-year-old boy died Monday on the first day of summer camp at Liberty Lake in Burlington County after being found unresponsive in a swimming pool, the head of the camp said in an email to families.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I’m writing to share some tragic news,” Andy Pritikin, the founder of Liberty Lake Day Camp in Mansfield Township, wrote in his message.

“During the afternoon swim period today for the Freshman Division, one of our lifeguards noticed that one of our campers appeared to be unresponsive in our shallow pool,” Pritikin said. According to the camp’s website, the division is for children entering first and second grades.

“They and our trained staff immediately followed appropriate protocol by pulling the camper out of the water, administering CPR and calling 911,” he said.

“EMTs [arrived] quickly, and transported the camper by ambulance to the nearest hospital where doctors feverishly tried to resuscitate him. Tragically, despite all lifesaving efforts, he passed away,” he said.

“We are absolutely devastated and heartbroken. Our thoughts at this most difficult time are with our camper’s family, friends and loved ones — and we are respecting their privacy at this time,” he said.

The boy was found unresponsive just before 2 p.m. on Monday after drowning in a swimming pool, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. A medical examiner was expected to perform an autopsy on Tuesday.

On Monday night, a representative for Liberty Lake emailed a statement on behalf of the camp: “We’re still reviewing what happened. We don’t know yet the exact cause or causes of the awful tragedy.”

Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Mansfield Township Police Department said they were investigating the incident and did not provide additional information.

Pritikin has owned the camp since 2005. According to the camp’s website, Liberty Lake sees more than 1,000 campers each summer, offering programming for children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

In his message, Pritikin said a licensed clinical social worker who works at the camp full-time was already providing counseling to people who witnessed the traumatic episode.

“The safety and well-being of our campers and staff is our number one priority,” he said, adding that Liberty Lake has three registered nurses on staff, and 25 lifeguards certified in first aid, CPR and the use of a defibrillator. He noted that the Mansfield First Aid Squad is located “just down the street.”

Pritikin said the summer camp would resume activities on Tuesday.

“Experts recommend that the best thing we can do is to forge forward, and continue on with camp tomorrow, which we will do,” he said.