August 3rd, 2010
01:01 AM ET

Six teens drown in Louisiana river

Six teens drowned after they waded into unfamiliar waters and fell into a deeper part of the Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana, officials said.

One additional member of the group was rescued, Shreveport Assistant Fire Chief Fred Sanders told CNN.

He said no one in the group of teens, who ranged in age from 13 to 18, could swim.

The victims were part of two families, and three of the victims were brothers, he said.

Divers on scene said the river bed drops from a shallow area to 20 feet, Sanders said.

People nearby heard the teens screaming for help, CNN affiliate KSLA reported.

Local ministers were in the area counseling grief-stricken family members Monday evening, KSLA said.

"Please lift this family up in prayer," Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover told KSLA.

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Filed under: Louisiana • U.S.
soundoff (481 Responses)
  1. Whitney

    I have read with disbelief many of the heartless comments here. Have we as a society completely lost our minds?? We can no longer feel pity or sadness for others? The teens involved were just trying to have some fun. They are also someones children. People who are posting these cruel and hatefoul comments should be ashamed of themselves.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:02 am | Report abuse |
    • ljhst5

      I'm in complete agreement, Whitney. The comments shocked me and made me a little ill. We should be praying for peace for the childrens' families.

      August 3, 2010 at 9:15 am | Report abuse |
    • Spike

      Prayer is nice and useful, but if you know anyone who has kids that do not know how to swim please smack them on the back of their heads and make them teach their children basic survival skills like look both ways when crossing a street, do not talk to strangers and LEARN HOW TO SWIM!

      August 3, 2010 at 10:59 am | Report abuse |
    • Chasaty

      Do you also feel pity for the teenagers who just wanted to have some fun by drinking and driving then smashing into a woman on her way home from work, killing all of them?

      August 3, 2010 at 12:29 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Spike

    Comments on here about schools not teaching swimming are wrong. It is up to the parents to teach their kids how to swim just as it is the parents that teach them to walk. Same basic thing.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:03 am | Report abuse |
  3. Niki

    It is such a tragedy, but I have to say that if no one could swim, why on earth would they wander into a river where there is no way to judge the depth there.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:06 am | Report abuse |
  4. Jtomka

    I live in Shreveport and what you don't understand is that their PARENTS WERE WITH THEM! They were with a group of about two dozen family members and NONE OF THEM COULD SWIM! The parents screamed and yelled from the bank as they watched the teenagers drown!

    August 3, 2010 at 9:09 am | Report abuse |
  5. ljhst5

    I'm shocked by these comments. Blaming the parents who are obviously going through a terrible amount of grief that most of us can not comprehend is pretty awful. It's really easy to judge actions in hindsight. I'm sure none of these parents wanted their children dead.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:14 am | Report abuse |
  6. Ryan

    Too bad one wasn't Justin Bieber.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:20 am | Report abuse |
  7. smile please

    looks like work of smiely face killers. Kids drowning in a river has always been their style.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:21 am | Report abuse |
  8. jack

    "Please lift this family up..." or at least teach them all to swim.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:22 am | Report abuse |
  9. Columbia

    Only in America could a story about kids doing something stupid (which kids everywhere at all times have done) turn into a debate about race.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:23 am | Report abuse |
  10. jonnyrottin

    this story is so sad on so many levels,god bless the children who hopefully knew god and are in heaven.Never ever go into water if you do not know how to swim,especially as in this situation in unprotected waters.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:23 am | Report abuse |
  11. jryan

    Six kids that didn't know how to swim.....definitely black kids.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:24 am | Report abuse |
    • RayOfLight

      so?

      August 3, 2010 at 11:06 am | Report abuse |
  12. Brooke

    @jomodamusicman- yeah you wouldn't have to live the rest of your life with knowing you didn't try cause you'd of gotten sucked into the sinkhole and died too. Way to pass the guilt buck.

    @Shrike-LMFAO dude... you're hilarious. Seriously. "Learning how to swim. Is there an App for that?" Comedic gold.

    @john-agreed. i dont know how to swim therefore you wont ever catch me in anything bigger than a kiddie pool. It's just common sense which after reading this article I find... not so common.

    Yes, it's a tradegy, yes it's sad, but its also a senseless waste. If they were hot they should have gone to a public library, the store, somewhere they could walk in an enjoy air conditioning not swam in a river when NO ONE knew how to swim. That's just plain dumb especially when its an area\river KNOWN for being dangerous where people die apparently die every year. What about that screams "family fun"?

    August 3, 2010 at 9:28 am | Report abuse |
  13. GY

    I haven't read all the comments – but consider this. Would you take your kids rock climbing if they, and more importantly YOU, didn't know how to rock climb? Would you take your kids skiing if they, and more importantly, YOU didn't know... get the drift? It's always a tragedy after the fact, but the truth is certain situations are inherently dangerous unless you have been taught previously. Sure, hot day, cool water, it all seems so logical – until it goes wrong. The phrase "accident waiting to happen" unfortunately fits.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:29 am | Report abuse |
    • Brooke

      @GY-also the common sense phrase "I cant swim so I'll probably drown" fits. They wouldn't stick their hand in a fire to heat up would they? So why jump in water when you can't swim? Thats just thoughtless.

      August 3, 2010 at 11:18 am | Report abuse |
  14. shorty

    Statistics show that the highest percentage of drownings in America are by African-Americans. However, it's mostly an issue of opportunity to learn to swim, not capability. What bothers me most about this is that NOBODY knew even rudimentary information about water safety. Not only could these kids not swim, the parents couldn't swim and didn't have any idea how to use a branch or rope or human chain to try and pull these kids out before they all died.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:30 am | Report abuse |
  15. Yari

    Another article stated they were trying to save someone else and eventually they drowned.

    August 3, 2010 at 9:30 am | Report abuse |
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