Heroic US mom drowns while holding son above water for rescue

In a tragic incident in the US, a selfless mother died while saving her two-year-old son from drowning after he fell into a lake as she held the child above water long enough for him to be rescued.
Chelsey Russell, a 33-year-old woman from Lakewood, Colorado, drowned in Hall's Crossing area of Lake Powell, Utah, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office.
Russell was on a houseboat last week with others when her 2-year-old son went overboard, and she jumped into the water to help him. Neither of the two were wearing life jackets.
Police stated that a "significant distance" developed between the pair and the boat before the vessel could be brought to a stop.

A family member untied a smaller boat from the houseboat and made it to the mother and child before they went completely under the water. Russell was able to hold her son above water long enough for him to be rescued.
"The conscious child was rescued from atop the mother's chest however; the mother was unconscious when pulled from the water," a statement was quoted as saying by myfox8.

CPR was attempted after Russell was pulled from the water, and she was taken to Crossing Marina, where she was pronounced dead after efforts to revive her failed.
The child was flown to Flagstaff Medical Center in stable condition and for a precautionary medical evaluation.

Meri Sias, Acting Chief Ranger at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, said in the statement that the tragic death is a reminder to wear proper safety gear.
"A common denominator in more than 120 fatalities at Lake Powell in the last decades is that victims were not wearing life jackets," she stated.