A six-year-old boy was left with a ruptured liver after a woman flied off a slide at a water park and crashed into him.
CCTV footage shows the child’s father ignoring warnings from staff and swimming directly into the slide’s path with his son in his arms.
Seconds later a woman came down the slide at high speed and smashed into them, with her feet going straight into the boy’s abdomen.
The horrifying accident happened at the Rodeo Drive water park in St Petersburg, Russia, on August 5.
The boy was seriously injured and rushed to hospital where doctors diagnosed him a ruptured liver, Russian authorities have said.
He underwent emergency surgery and has since regained consciousness but remains in a serious condition in hospital.
The woman who crashed into the child has reportedly apologised to the family – with the boy’s parents stating they do not blame her or the water park for what happened.
However, the six-year-old’s father is now facing criminal charges after a preliminary investigation for causing serious bodily harm through negligence was opened against him.
The prosecutor’s office has confirmed that it is monitoring the progress and outcome of the probe.
It is understood that neither the woman who came down the slide nor the water park itself are under investigation.
Liver ruptures are rare but serious injuries that can occur from trauma to the abdomen.
They can be life-threatening and doctors must treat the injury immediately and stop the bleeding.
Liver ruptures are usually caused by accidents, for example with a car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle or as a pedestrian.
Tissues and blood vessels in the liver can rupture, causing large amounts of blood to leak out of the vital organ.
Symptoms of liver ruptures include severe abdominal pain or tenderness, dizziness, a rapid heart rate and vomiting.
In severe cases, swelling of the abdomen and signs of an infection like fever or chills may also occur.
The incident at the water park in Russia comes just two weeks after a toddler plunged to her death in Croatia after slipping from her father’s arms.
According to local media, the 21-month-old girl from Germany, sustained severe injuries after falling from a height as she and her father descended from the slide.
Other tourists who witnessed the incident said her father desperately called out for help, saying: ‘Don’t ask me anything… my daughter is dying.’
Emergency services arrived at the scene and secured a landing spot for an air ambulance, which took the child to KBC Rijeka.
However, despite the medic’s best effort, she succumbed to her injuries, which were described as serious by local media.
