A 39-year-old Texas man nearly drowned in the Mountain Fork River at Beavers Bend State Park on Sunday afternoon after going under the water and failing to resurface, officials said. Bystanders pulled him to shore and began CPR before emergency responders arrived. He survived and was later released from a nearby hospital, according to officials.
The incident happened shortly before 1 p.m. on September 20, according to ktbs.com, which identified the swimmer as Umit Kargoz of Princeton, Texas. KTBS reported that Kargoz was swimming in the river when he began struggling and did not resurface. Emergency crews responded to the park, according to KOKH.
Bystanders Acted Before Help Arrived
KTBS reported that witnesses pulled Kargoz to shore and performed CPR until emergency responders arrived. He was transported to McCurtain County Memorial Hospital for treatment and later released, according to the report.
The cause of the near-drowning remains under investigation, and no additional details about what led Kargoz to struggle in the water have been released.
Related Incident and Public-Health Context
KOKH previously reported that Kaylin Pope, 32, of McKinney, Texas, drowned on June 6 after going over the Low Head Dam while kayaking in a restricted area of the Mountain Fork River near Broken Bow: KOKH report. The Oklahoma State Department of Health defines drowning as respiratory impairment caused by submersion or immersion in liquid and notes that drowning is not always fatal. That definition encompasses both fatal and nonfatal events, but does not by itself establish whether the circumstances of the current incident matched those of the earlier drowning.
The Park and River
Beavers Bend State Park sits in the mountainous region of southeast Oklahoma along the shores of Broken Bow Lake and the Mountain Fork River, according to travelok.com.
Officials have not released additional information about what caused Kargoz to struggle in the water or identified any contributing circumstances.
