3-year-old boy dies a day after his twin brother drowns

3 year old twins who attended a social gathering with their parents have died. The twins attended the gathering with their parents and older sister and after lunch were allowed to go play outside with the others kids present at the gathering, said the county's deputy coroner, Don McCown.

Ezekiel Marcengill  died a day after he was found in the bottom of a backyard swimming pool with his twin brother. His twin brother, Caleb Marcengill of Westminster, S.C., was pronounced dead Saturday afternoon after he was rushed to Greenville Memorial Hospital, . His brother, Ezekiel who had been on life support died Sunday afternoon.

Their deaths were ruled accidental drownings, according to the coroner's office.
At about 2 pm, the twins' older sister went outside and found them under water in the pool of their guest's home, she screamed for their parents who rushed to the scene immediately. The boys had probably been underwater for about 15 to 20mins.

Family members attempted CPR until emergency services arrived. Caleb was pronounced dead at 3:21 p.m. Saturday; Ezekiel died about 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Their father, Brandon Marcengill, urged everyone to hug their loved ones.

"Hold them tight," he said Sunday. "You protect your kids as best as you can. They reach an age where they can run around and play. How do you defend against everything?"

A key was needed to unlock the gate for access to the above-ground pool. The boys' older sister used the key when she found her siblings.

The twins apparently crawled under the fence or possibly climbed over it, McCown said.

"There's a pretty good gap on one side of the fence and pretty much an adult could've crawled under it," he said. The pool was 4 feet deep, and the water level was at 3 feet, 8 inches.

The family told authorities the boys were just learning how to swim.



Source: USA Today