6 teens drown as relatives watch

Louisiana – Six teenagers who could not swim and were wading in shallow water drowned in front of their horrified families in Louisiana’s Red River after they fell into a chasm of much deeper water. A 15-year-old was rescued.The teens were splashing around in shallow waters Monday when one of them fell into the deeper water. The others tried to save the boy and they too toppled into the deeper water.Their relatives, who couldn’t swim either, looked on helplessly as the six struggling teens screamed for help, then vanished and drowned.DeKendrix Warner, the 15-year-old who was the first to fall in, was rescued by a bystander.“I stepped and I started drowning,” he said from his impoverished, inner-city Shreveport home in a low voice, his eyes staring at the ground.The large group of family and friends had gathered for an afternoon of swimming and barbecuing in the oppressive heat. The group had only been at the river for about ten minutes when tragedy struck – they didn’t even have time to set up the barbecue.DeKendrix said he was kicking and felt like the river was pulling him under. When he was finally pulled from the water, he told the man to go help his cousin.Those who drowned were aged 13 to 18 and came from two families.The area where the drowning occurred is not a designated recreational or swimming area but is often frequented by swimmers and boaters. “The river is a dangerous place. It’s no place to even put your foot in if you don’t know how to swim,” said Shreveport Fire Chief Brian Crawford. (AP)