It takes quite a bit of electricity to do something like that. There must be a real problem under the water, but why haven't they just pulled the meter in order to stop the flow?

My truest condolences to the families.

This statement, however, begs comment:

"So many people coming to the rescue, jumping in, risking their lives, not knowing what they're getting into; that's just pure heroism."

I can't agree that this was "pure heroism". While I understand that rescuers were trying to help, the fact remains that before helping someone else, you MUST make sure that the scene is SAFE ie you must "know" what you are "getting into".

This is taught in basic First Aid classes everywhere. Professional rescuers are also taught from DAY ONE about scene safety. There's a saying that professional rescuers use - "never bring a victim to the scene of an accident."

Again, my condolences to the families involved.

Such a sad sad story. I don't often get tears in my eyes when reading a story, but this one got me. RIP little princes. To the family and friends of both boys': My deepest and heartfelt condolences to all. To those that tried to help: You are all heroes.

Placing your trust in fictional characters gets you nothing but a false sense of security.

As far as those jumping into unknown danger being "HEROS" anyone with any water safety training knows that jumping in is the absoulte last thing you do in a rescue. You have a great probability of creating more victims, just as in this situation. The proper sequence is to reach first (boat oar, pole or such), then throw (anything such as a rope, life preserver, or other floating device), then row or take a boat to the victim, then the absolute last thing is to enter the water. I have had years of training and have had to preform many rescues, and one drowning person is far better than several.

It is a very sad and yet preventable thing that happened. Do-it-your-selfers putting electric wiring anywhere around water should always know what to do or let professionals handle this. GFCI breakers are expensive at $50.00 or more apiece, but would have shut off the power instantly as soon as there was the slightest contact with ground, or the water in this case. This entire tragedy was so simple to prevent.

It was good to hear that the boys were followers of Christ and had made that profession of faith.

May God bring comfort to those families who have suffered an untimely loss of their children.

To those individuals who don't believe in a Higher Power, PLEASE just leave us be. It's all many of us have left in this world, including myself.

Without my strong faith, I would have no other incentive whatsoever to be a 'good' person. That incentive has been stolen from me time and time again. It is my desire to please God that keeps me on the straight and narrow path. Nothing Else!

+ + + +

So sorry to hear this. Condolences to the family.

Unfortunately, instinct takes over & people will jump in the water (especially to save children), leading to more victims. Hope they find out how this happened & prevent this from happening again. RIP

A horrible story !! These children are gone and no one knows what actually was the fault ??

Hire licensed electrical contractors.....this save a buck, race to the bottom economy has consequences.

There's something illegal about this. Just like your kitchen and bathroom, all electrical units near water are to have a ground fault interuptor - which would have saved the children. I'll bet someone installed this without a permit or inspection - idiot.

Working in an emergency room, I see traumas of all kinds, and death is a regular occurence. I think if I work until I'm 90 years old, I'll never get used to seeing a kid die - it just shouldn't happen. It's the one thing we see that is just unimaginable and the grief that the families suffer is unbearable. Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often or I don't know if any of us would be able to do our jobs effectively. I hope that the families involved will be able to find comfort in this tragedy and that they will heal in time.

I was curious what he looks like and boy he is so handsome. Life is so short for him to died. I feel so bad for kids. I feel so sad for families. Kids had fun and pfftt poof! It is not right. I mentioned earlier and said could be possible eels out there?

Very sad for the families and their victims. However, that many people jumping in after watching what was happening is not heroism, it is outright stupidity. After the first one or two, it should have been obvious there was an electrical problem and before anymore went in, the power cut at the master switches either at the docks or at the nearby meters. The first person to feel the electricity should have warned others not to get into the water. It might have saved some lives if that had been done immediately. Why there were not any ground-fault interrupters in place on the docks or in the boats is beyond imagining. They have been around for decades. Every bathroom, kitchen, garage and outdoor power receptacle in every house in the US built or renovated in the last several decades is required to have them. They would have instantaneously tripped-out and cut the power, probably before anyone ever even felt the shock and certainly would have saved lives. On-board inverters running from batteries, while they can electrocute someone on a boat, cannot cause a current to flow through the lake water around the boat to shore or between boats. Only shore supplied power going to through a gound fault to the lake or through a boat with with shore supplied power and a ground fault to its hull can create the situation they experienced. There is absolutely no excuse for this at all.