Girl, 12, Dies At Disney World

A 12-year-old girl collapsed at a Disney World water park Thursday and later died, authorities said. An autopsy is planned.

The girl was in the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon at about 6 p.m. when lifeguards noticed her lying on a ledge, out of the water, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

Lifeguards asked her if she was OK, and the girl told them she was, but then passed out when she stood up. The lifeguards performed CPR until paramedics arrived. She was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.

"This is someone we approached and talked to, and after we engaged in conversation with her, she became ill," said Disney spokesman Bill Warren.

The girl was with relatives from Newport News, Va. They said she had no known medical problems, the sheriff's office said.

Her name was being withheld until her parents in Virginia were notified. An autopsy was planned.

In June, another child died at the theme park after riding Epcot's "Mission: Space," which simulates a shuttle ride to Mars. The cause of the 4-year-old boy's death is under investigation.

Disney World attracts millions of visitors annually. It is not the only park in the country to see recent child deaths.

A 7-year-old boy drowned after he jumped or fell from a boat during a water ride at a Westchester, N.Y., amusement park.

The boy, from Norwalk, Conn., disappeared while he was riding on Ye Olde Mill Ride at Rye Playland. On the ride, conveyer belts carry boats slowly through a dark tunnel, which features trolls, gnomes, hidden treasure and a dragon.

The death is believed to be the second in 15 months. In May of last year, a 7-year-old girl was killed on the park's Mind Scrambler ride, which quickly spins passengers around in a dark tent filled with flashing lights and throbbing music. The girl, Stephanie Dieudonne, knelt on the seat, freeing herself of the ride's restraining belt, and fell shortly after the ride started spinning, the New York Daily News reports.