Written by: Jeffrey Wolf, Web Producer and Shawn Patrick, Reporter

Last updated: 5/31/2007 6:20:56 AM
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Boy pulled out of pool not expected to survive. 9NEWS at 10 p.m.

Aurora Police believe his sister died while trying to save him.
It happened Monday afternoon in the Rain Tree East subdivision in the 9900 block of East Evans Avenue, which is near Iliff and Havana in Aurora.

Sixteen-year-old Bethlehem Kahsay and her 11-year-old brother, Yacob Kahsay, were pulled out of the water. Efforts to revive the girl failed.

Yacob is in the pediatric intensive care unit after being airlifted to Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Yacob’s father, Gezaee Kahsay, says his son is still in critical condition and the outlook for him is not positive.

“The doctor said the brain is almost gone,” said Gezaee. “He’s very bad, he can’t survive now.”

Their neighbor, and father of another 11-year-old boy, is losing sleep after the incident pool.

Ron Burney’s son and his wife found the two in the pool.

“I took off running out the door. I said, ‘Grab my phone.’ I thought it was kids playing a joke or something, but it wasn’t a joke,” said Burney.

Burney called 911 to get help.

“There’s two dead kids in the pool, please hurry,” he told the 911 dispatcher. “There are two children in the pool, they are floating, one is at the bottom. It looks like two young kids. Oh Lord, have mercy. They’re dead, they’re both dead.”

Gezaee says he is now praying for a miracle for his son. The doctors told him his son is brain dead and his organs have shut down.

He emigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia 10 years ago.

“We worked so hard to bring them here for education and to get a college degree, and now we have nothing left,” Gezaee said.

He plans to move back to Ethiopia for the burial of his children and the family is trying to raise money for the services.

If you would like to help, contact the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, at 574 Pennsylvania Street in Denver. You can call them at 303-698-9957.

Both Gezaee and his wife were at work on Wednesday. Burney says he did not realize who the children were until he saw their faces on the news.

“These people worked. I pray to God they don’t think they did something wrong, it was just God’s plan,” said Burney.