Maryland girl remains in critical condition, shocked at MGM National Harbor fountain
OXON HILL, Md. - A school community is coming together to support the family of 6-year-old Zynae Green, who got an electric shock in an accident at MGM National Harbor on Tuesday.
Zynae's uncle tells FOX 5 she remains in critical condition. They are praying for a miracle. The community at Barstow Elementary in Prince Frederick, Maryland
MGM National Harbor spokesman tells FOX 5 there are no updates on why the railing near a fountain was electrified when Zynae touched it. The incident is still under investigation. The area is closed.
Officials say the incident was reported just before midnight at the resort complex in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Family members told FOX 5 that the girl was shocked when she touched a metal railing near an outdoor water fountain. A security guard rushed to help the girl, but was also shocked, family members said.
The security guard was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, officials stated.
MGM released the following statement to FOX 5 at the time of the incident:
"This is a horrible accident and we are heartbroken. We offer our support and prayers for the family. We are fully cooperating with the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department to investigate the incident that occurred at an outdoor area of our resort last night. That area has been closed to the public while investigators and our engineers conduct a comprehensive assessment of the situation."
Officials said public investigators for the county and private investigators for the casino were investigating the incident.
Nate Carney, the president of Smart Services Group, a company that specializes in electrical work for commercial and residential projects, including the installation of fountains, told FOX 5 an incident like this is very rare.
"If you get in between the electric and the ground, you're going get hurt, so that's why we have special safety devices," he said. "We typically see these sorts of things with older structures where the wiring was installed a hundred years ago. But we have safety codes and regulations that are supposed to protect us from this so that's why it's very unusual. So it breaks my heart a little bit to hear that this happened."