CANTON, Texas — *Editorial Note: This story was originally published on July 29, 2019.
A man who died over the weekend at Splash Kingdom Water Park in Canton has been identified as a University of Texas at Tyler student.
According to the Canton Police Department, officers were called to the water park, located at 18814 Interstate 20 just before 5 p.m. Sunday, on reports of a drowning. The Canton Fire Department and EMS also responded to the scene.
Police say a 19-year-old man, later identified by UT Tyler as Emmanuel Ogunfuwa, was found unresponsive and had been pulled from a 10-foot deep pool.
"We are praying for the family of this man, as well as the lifeguard team that responded to him," Splash Kingdom said in a release. "The health and safety of all our guests is our highest priority and we are honored by the opportunity to serve you and your family."
Splash Kingdom President Johnny Blevins also reiterated to CBS19's LaDyrian Cole during a phone conversation that the lifeguards and responding staff followed the park's protocol during the incident. Belvins said CPR was performed by park personnel and an AED was used in attempts to revive him.
However, several people who claim to have witnessed the incident questioned on social media the efforts by park staff. One of them, James Husband, told CBS19 the lifeguards appeared unsure and panicked when administering CPR.
"If you know CPR, you also know that if you're going to give the guy air, you have to have his airway cleared and mouth opened in order to give him air," Husband said. "They weren't doing that correctly."
Husband says he along with several others stepped in to help. Other witnesses and Blevins confirmed volunteers assisted in the response.
"None of the lifeguards, nor the managers knew how long we'd been doing CPR," Husband said. "No one knew. No one even kept track."
Husband claims to have seen only one lifeguard on duty instead of the required two at the slide where Ogunfuwa was found. He also says lifeguards did not use a defibrillator when giving aid.
However, Blevins was adamant when he told CBS19, Husband's claims are "completely incorrect".
He says according to staff reports, there were two lifeguards on duty at the Volcano slide, one at the top and another at the bottom in the pool area.
Blevins says the park would not have been able to open otherwise. He says two secondary responding lifeguards came to assist during the incident at the sound of a whistle, with the closest one coming from 35-yards away.
First responders say lifesaving efforts were continued while a helicopter was dispatched to the water park. Ogunfuwa was flown to a Tyler hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
An autopsy has been ordered.
According to UT Tyler, Ogunfuwa started at the college in the fall of 2018. He attended both during the 2019 spring and summer semesters, as well.
Ogunfuwa's Facebook page says he was originally from Lagos, Nigeria, and had also studied at Panola College in Carthage.
"We are saddened by the news of Emmanuel’s passing and offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends," UT Tyler said in a statement. "UT Tyler has been in contact with his family to offer and coordinate support, and grief counseling is available for the university community."
Ogunfuwa is the second person to die at a Splash Kingdom park in the last week. Last Thursday, 13-year-old Kendall Williams died after being found unresponsive in the activity pool at the Splash Kingdom Water Park in Shreveport. The teenager's cause of death has not been identified.
In both cases, operation at the parks continued following the medical emergencies. When asked why only the affected slides and pools were closed as opposed to the entire park, Blevins told CBS19 in regards to the Canton death:
"An operations-safe incident in one area does not stop operations in the remainder in the park. Yes, we continued operation. We continued operating safely for the rest of the park that didn’t have a part in this particular situation, so that we could also protect the integrity of anything that authorities needed to review.”