8-Year-Old Boy in Critical Condition After Nearly Drowning in Cruise Ship Pool

An 8-year-old boy is in critical condition after nearly drowning in a pool on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas cruise ship Thursday afternoon.

The child, whose name has not yet been released, was traveling with a large group of around 50 people from Maryland, Royal Caribbean representatives told Today.

The Coast Guard said the boy had been in the water for 8 to 10 minutes before cruise officials found him, the Associated Press reports. Medical representatives performed CPR on him before an NYPD helicopter landed on the ship to take him to a hospital, company officials told Today.

"We are assisting family of 8 year old boy sailing on #AnthemoftheSeas who had an accident in one of the ship pool," Royal Caribbean representatives tweeted on Thursday night. "Boy needed medical attention, so #AnthemoftheSeas sailed back to Bayonne [New Jersey]. He is currently being treated at the hospital."



"Our Care Team is providing support to his family. Please join us in keeping them in our thoughts & prayers," the tweet continued.

The ship had departed Bayonne at 4:30 p.m. bound for a nine-day trip that included stops in Bermuda, St. Martin, Puerto Rico and Haiti. A witness on board told The Daily News that the emergency announcement was made on the Anthem's upper decks after 5:30 p.m., and that the ship had docked back at Bayonne at 12:31 a.m.

The boy's travel companions departed the the ship, boarding buses back for Maryland, reports Today.

The Anthem of the Seas departed its New Jersey port for a second time at 2:15 a.m. Friday morning to continue its itinerary, The Daily News reports.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas was in the news earlier this year. In February, the ship returned to its New Jersey port after a massive storm injured four passengers and left thousands more confined to their rooms.