MEDFORD, MA—A 28-year-old Indian man on Sunday was pulled from Wright’s Pond in Medford, MA, and is not expected to survive, according to Medford Police. Authorities did not release the name of the victim.
“While at MGH (Mass General Hospital), it was determined that the victim of the drowning no longer had brain activity,” Medford Police said in a statement. “He has been kept alive until his family, who reside in India, is properly notified by doctors.”
On Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022, at approximately 11:15 AM, the Medford 911 Dispatch Center received an emergency call from a person at Wright’s Pond in Medford.
“The caller was frantically creaming for help for a friend that was under water and did not resurface. When police and fire arrived at Wright’s Pond swim area, they quickly established that the person they were looking for was not there,” the statement said, adding that he police was able to determine that the victim was at the far side of the pond.
“That area of the pond is not visible from the beach side of the pond and is not a designated swim area. The officers and the firefighters made their way around the pond to the area where the person was underwater,” the statement said. “They were able to find him because his friend was there to call for help. Two of the firefighters could see the person underwater and they jumped in to get him.”
The statement said that a Medford Police Officer made his way in towards them to help pull the person from the water.
“They were able to pass him to several other police and firefighters at the shore. The victim, a 28-year-old male, was carried through the woods to Medford Fire Department 4X4 off road vehicle that took the victim to the area of Rt. 28 where the ambulance transported him to Mass General Hospital,” the statement added.
Police said they were called to the pond at 11:15 a.m. The person calling said their friend had gone underwater and did not resurface.
Emergency crews were ultimately able to find the man underwater and jumped in to get him. He was removed from the water and carried through the woods to a Medford Fire Department off-road vehicle, which took him to Route 28 where an ambulance transported him to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Police said the north side of the pond where the man was swimming when he went under is not a designated swim area, and urged residents to only use designated beach and swimming areas, as the other areas can be dangerous even for experienced swimmers.
