Brooklyn boy, 9, drowns at Camden County water park

A 9 year-old boy on a camp outing drowned at Sahara Sam’s Oasis water park in Camden County, police said Wednesday.

Berlin Township Police Chief Leonard Check identified the victim as Hersh Meilech Grossman of Brooklyn, N.Y. His death Tuesday night was ruled an accidental drowning, he said.

Hersh was attending a private event at the water park on Route 73 as part of a class trip with Belzer Talmud Torah, an Orthodox Jewish group from the Boro Park Community in Brooklyn, and several other groups, the chief said. Between 750 and 800 children and staff were at the event, he said.

The events surrounding the drowning were unclear, Check said. Police were dispatched to the water park around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for a cardiac-arrest report, the chief said.

Police found lifeguards performing CPR on the victim, who was unconscious when he was pulled from the pool, Check said. Police, along with the fire department and EMS staff, continued CPR efforts on the victim, the chief said.

Hersh was transported to Virtua Hospital in Voorhees, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, the chief said.

“We don’t know what happened. It just looks like a tragic accident," Check said.

The drowning was ruled an accident, Check said. The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said no criminal charges have been filed.

The park had been rented out and there were several groups at Sahara Sam’s, according to Yeshiva World, an Orthodox online news publication based in New York. The youngsters and adults from the camps were held at the scene until about 10:30 p.m. Crisis counselors were made available when they returned to New York, the website said.

Funeral services were scheduled for Wednesday.

The water park reopened Wednesday morning, said Sharon Rushen, a spokesperson. Sahara Sam’s opened in 2009 as a free-standing indoor water park with 58,000 square feet of aquatic and arcade attractions.

“We are deeply saddened by the incident and our prayers are with the guest’s family and friends at this difficult time. We are completing a thorough review of the incident, which occurred during a private event, and working closely with local authorities. The safety of our guests and team members is our first priority,” Rushen said in a statement.