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Accident Information File


05-15-2004
A weekend swim at a West Vineland, N.J., pond turned tragic when a 21-year-old Philadelphia man drowned. The victim had no vital signs when he was pulled from the 30-foot-deep pond, known as the Blue Hole sandwash, more than an hour after he went under the water. The victim went to the former mining site with two other men and two children. At one point, he and one of the other men went to the southeast corner of the pond and decided to swim from one side to the other, a distance of about 200 feet. Halfway across, the Philadelphia man went under the water, then resurfaced before going under again. The other swimmer was unaware of what happened until he finished crossing the water. He then swam back to the middle of the pond to find the victim and was trying to rescue him when police and fire officials arrived. A police diver retrieved the body. It’s illegal to swim at the Blue Hole, but the spot is popular with folks looking to cool off on warm days, authorities said. (Source: Daily Journal/Vineland, N.J.)



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