An 18-month-old toddler in Arizona, declared dead after drowning in a pool, was found alive in a hospital cold room five hours later, according to a police report. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
The incident occurred on 8 February in Gilbert, a Phoenix suburb. The family was watching the NFL Super Bowl when the child was found face down in the pool. Police were called around 17:30 MST (00:30 GMT). The child was taken to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and pronounced dead at 18:20.
According to the police report, officers told physician Dr. Aryan Toosi they had seen signs of life. The doctor responded, "please do your thing and let me do my thing." "I went to medical school for a reason," Toosi said. He declared time of death at 18:20 and observed a moment of silence.
Five hours later, a transporter from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office arrived and found the child still breathing. He was flown to another hospital, recovered, and has since been released.
The doctor's attorney, Scott Holden, told the Associated Press "that there is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far." The BBC has reached out to Toosi's lawyer for comment.
Police are recommending negligence charges against the parents. The police report noted a strong smell of marijuana at the home, suggesting the child may have had unsupervised access to the pool. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office has not yet decided whether to press charges.
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center said in a statement that the hospital conducted "a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care." The hospital called it "a heartbreaking situation" and declined to release further details.