Father, sons in hospital after incident at apartment complex pool

A father and his two sons remain in hospital after an incident at a pool in a St. James apartment complex Sunday night.

Emergency crews were called to the Courts of St. James just before 5 p.m. Three people were taken to hospital in critical condition.

Ryan Fletcher, who has lived in the building for more than two years, said he was shocked to hear what happened.

"It's terrible. You don't want to hear that anybody got hurt," he said.

Constance Peterson said she was having an Easter dinner with her family at a nearby apartment building when they heard emergency vehicles pulling up outside.

Peterson said she and two others went across the street and saw three people being brought out of the building on stretchers. Emergency crews were doing chest compressions on two of the people, she said.

Peterson — who has an 18-month-old and a four-year-old — said the incident made her think of her own kids.

"That got me going, and I started crying," she said.

"It really shook me and my family … I went and hugged both of my kids, and I was like, 'We're never going swimming again.' But, of course, you can't do that."

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said it was unable to provide names or any further information on the victims because of privacy laws.

The building is operated by Globe Property Management. In a statement, senior vice-president Ron Penner said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family or families involved, we hope for a positive outcome."