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8-year-old boy on life support after near drowning on Anthem of the Seas cruise ship

By Martin Smith
The pool on board Anthem of the Seas where an 8-year-old boy was found unconcious. Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean blog/Twitter
The pool on board Anthem of the Seas where an 8-year-old boy was found unconcious. Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean blog/Twitter

BAYONNE, N.J., July 1 (UPI) -- A young boy is on life support after nearly drowning on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in New York Harbor.

The 8-year-old was found unresponsive in a swimming pool Thursday on the Anthem of the Seas ship, about 8 miles off the coast of Breezy Point, Queens.

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The boy is said to have been in the water for almost 20 minutes before his plight was noticed, reported CBS.

Medical crews on the ship performed CPR, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

The New York Police Department's Aviation Unit then airlifted the child to Staten Island University Hospital North, accompanied by the New York City Fire Department paramedics.

He is said to be in critical condition

His family, part of a group from the Netherlands, returned to port in Bayonne, N.J..

It's not the first time that Anthem of the Seas has made news this year. Back in February, the ship and 4,500 passengers were battered by a major storm in the Atlantic Ocean as winds topped 125 mph.

Passengers were clinging to their beds as hurricane-force winds rocked the boat for hours.

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Later that month, the ship was forced to turn around to New Jersey after being hit by an outbreak of norovirus.

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