4 swimmers sent to hospital; no problem found with Kenmore pool

No water-quality problems or mechanical issues were found Tuesday as county health officials investigated what sent four synchronized swimmers at the Kenmore pool to hospitals Monday night.

"It does appear that water quality was not an issue at the pool yesterday," said Hilary Karasz, spokeswoman for Public Health — Seattle & King County.

Health-department investigators at the pool Tuesday found nothing in their initial investigation relating to water quality, air quality or mechanical operations that would explain the event, Karasz said.

"There was no indication chlorine levels were in any way out of normal," she said.

Tuesday, the water was filled with swimmers doing laps as usual, visible through floor-to-ceiling windows framing the pool.

Investigators now will use other methods to try to determine what happened at the pool, including interviewing witnesses and victims, reviewing log books and other records, Karasz said. That's likely to take several days, she added.

A review is required by state regulations when such an incident takes place, she said, although the pool remains in operation.

"One thing we can say is there's nothing that's going to put the public at risk," she said.

The incident took place about 5:30 p.m. Monday when the girls, ages 13 and 14, were practicing holding their breath underwater during a synchronized-swimming practice.

Lifeguard Rachael Hublou, 16, said she was teaching a swimming lesson on the other side of the pool when she saw the girls' coach jump in fully clothed.

"Then she came out with a girl that was completely limp and blue," Hublou said.

Hublou performed CPR on the girl, and the coach went back into the pool to retrieve two other girls still at the bottom. Two other lifeguards and a pool manager helped the coach resuscitate the three girls, she said.

It wasn't clear where the fourth girl was or what her circumstances were in the incident.

Two of the girls were taken to Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland, where they were treated and released, said hospital spokesman Mark Woodward.

One girl was taken to Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center in Seattle. Her condition was not available. Another girl was taken to Group Health's Eastside campus and was expected to be released Tuesday, according to a Group Health spokesman.

The Carole Ann Wald Memorial Pool is located at St. Edward State Park, at the northeast end of Lake Washington.

The pool is operated under a five-year contract with the Washington State Parks Department that began in 2004, after the state took over operation of the pool from King County in 2000. The state found it too expensive to continue operating the pool and considered closing it but entered into an agreement with a nonprofit agency to keep the pool open.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com.

Staff reporter Sonia Krishnan contributed to this story.