TORONTO -- A man drowned in front of tourists in Las Vegas after jumping into the famous fountains outside the Bellagio hotel on Friday.
Las Vegas police said the man, described as a white male between 40 and 50 years old, swam toward the centre of the deep man-made “lake” sometime around 10 a.m. local time.
A witness told a local TV news station that the man was swimming “confidently” toward the middle for a few minutes before he stopped, began treading water and started yelling for help.
One of the tourists jumped in and tried to assist but was forced to turn back when he realized he would not be able to help, said police Capt. Dori Koren in a press conference.
The man had already drowned by the time police and other rescuers arrived on the scene, he added. The victim was not yet identified, but Koren told reporters he was believed to be a local homeless person.
A second person also went into the fountain briefly around the time of the incident but was pulled out quickly, Koren said, adding that the second incident appeared to be unrelated to the first.
The Bellagio fountain is 4 metres deep (13 feet) at its deepest point and averages about 2.5 meters (8 feet) deep, according to media reports.
