Authorities have identified two of the three family members who died in a backyard pool in East Brunswick Monday afternoon.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office says that 62-year-old Bharat Patal, his 33-year old daughter-in-law Nisha Patel and her 8-year-old daughter drowned in the pool at 43 Clearview Road around 4:18 p.m. All three lived at the home, according to the prosecutor.
Police were called to the house after a neighbor who heard screaming called 911.
"We received a 911 call from a neighbor about a possible fall victim,” says Lt. Frank Sutter. “Officers arrived on scene realized it's a drowning. All of the deceased taken from the pool. CPR was done and they were pronounced in the backyard."
Neighbor Vishal Makin says the family had just moved into the home a couple weeks ago, and the last time they spoke, they had just gotten their pool serviced and were excited to use it.
“We were so excited for them, it's the right weather…such a bad sad day,” says Makin.
Investigators have ruled the deaths as accidental.