Overview
- In Nagareyama, Chiba, a one-year-old boy was pulled from an irrigation channel and remains unconscious in critical condition after being taken to a hospital.
- Rescuers found him about 550 meters downstream roughly 20 minutes after the emergency call and flew him by Doctor-Heli air ambulance.
- Police said the concrete channel had no protective railing and held about 17 centimeters of water, a depth that can drown a small child.
- In a separate case announced by the Gifu Prefectural Sports Association, a toddler became temporarily unconscious during a January swimming class run by contractor Aichi Swimming and later left the hospital to recuperate.
- The association asked a specialist water-accident body to investigate and pledged prevention steps, while Nagareyama police are examining how the Chiba accident occurred.