Mass. closes deep swimming pools after drowning

  

FALL RIVER, MA -- Authorities have closed all 30 state-run deep water public swimming pools in Massachusetts after a 36-year-old woman apparently drowned in a pool in Fall River, but wasn't discovered until two days later.

Wednesday's closing comes a day after youngsters jumped over a fence at night for a clandestine swim and found Marie Joseph's body floating in Veterans Memorial Pool at Lafayette Park.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation says the move will enable officials to review safety and operational procedures. The agency also suspended all workers at the pool.

Authorities were trying to determine if Joseph had been submerged in the pool since Sunday. Police Chief Daniel Racine says a 9-year-old boy Joseph was watching at the pool told them she slipped on a water slide and went underwater.

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