NEAR TO DEATH IN POOL.
With Twenty Swimmers Close at
Hand, Bather Goes Down
Third Time at Y. M. C. A.
With more than a score of persons swimming within ten feet of him yesterday afternoon in the swimming pool in the Y. M. C. A. building, P. H. Hanner, a deaf mute 23 years old, living at 517 Washington, was almost drowned before he could attract the attention of anyone. Hanner struggled several minutes and had sunk for the third time before it was realized that he was drowning. It took two hours to resuscitate him.
When Hanner's limbs began to tire and he realized that he couldn't reach safety, he tried to motion for help. No one saw him. He could not cry out, and the water with its splashing bathers , made invisible his signals for help.
He sank for the first time and rose to the surface; a moment later his lungs filled with water. In desperation he waved his hands. The second time he sank he began to think that the end was near.
"That's a pretty good diver," said someone. "See how he stays under water."
Just as he was sinking for the third time, one of his companions noticed the agonized expression on his face. The attention of several others was called, and he was pulled to safety. The ambulance from police headquarters was called and Dr. F. R. Berry induced artificial respiration until he recovered consciousness.
