‘I’ve never seen anyone die.’ Man drowns in Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas, police say

At first, the sight of a man swimming across the Bellagio fountains on the Las Vegas Strip seemed bizarre but not especially alarming, tourist Kayla Eklund said.

The man, who had jumped into the fountains outside the casino Friday morning, seemed like a strong swimmer, the 21-year-old from Michigan told KLAS. Then he began to struggle.

“He was just staying in one spot, treading water,” Eklund said, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. “He started yelling, ‘Help, help, help!’”

Another onlooker jumped in the water, which ranges from 4 to 13 feet deep, to try to rescue the man, The Las Vegas Sun reported. Police said the original swimmer, believed to be a homeless Las Vegas resident in his 40s or 50s, drowned.

“The last couple times I saw him, he was like bobbing his head up and down, and then he fell backwards and was just laying,” said Eklund, who had called 911, KLAS reported.

“My friend and I, we were just saying ‘this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening,’” Eklund said, KNLV reported.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office identified the drowned man Monday as David C. Swift, 52, of no known address, KLAS later reported. No cause of death has been released pending toxicology tests.

The fountains, a Las Vegas Strip landmark known for lights and jets of water choreographed to music, were not operating at the time of the 10:10 a.m. incident, according to The Las Vegas Sun.

“The incident is an unfortunate reminder to be safe,” said Capt. Don Koren of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, KVVU reported.

Eklund said the drowning left onlookers distraught, particularly those who had tried to rescue the man, KLAS reported.

“I’ve never seen anyone die,” said Eklund, a first-time visitor to Las Vegas, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We kept thinking, ‘what could we have done’?”

LeTorrence Dowell, 31, witnessed the incident from the balcony of his nearby hotel room, according to the publication.

“I keep thinking about it,” Dowell said, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. “I can’t stop looking at (the fountains).”

The man had been talking to tourists before jumping into the fountains, KVVU reported.

Eklund said she saw him pull off his shirt as he dashed toward the fountains and plunged in while shouting, saying he seemed disturbed, according to KLAS.

Another man who also jumped into the fountains a short time later in what appeared to be an unrelated incident was quickly removed, KNLV reported.

A spokesman for MGM Resorts International, which owns the Bellagio, said the company is cooperating with authorities in an investigation of the incident, The Las Vegas Sun reported.

This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 10:43 AM with the headline "‘I’ve never seen anyone die.’ Man drowns in Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas, police say."