Heartbreak as mom describes trying to save her twin boys from drowning: ‘I was praying to God it was a toy’

A North Carolina mother described the heartbreaking moment she tried to save her twin boys from drowning after they fell through an icy pond.

Barbara Zarlinga was cooking dinner in her Onslow County home on Sunday, while her 7-year-old sons — Benjamin and Sebastian — played outside.

She called out to them twice, but by the third time, she felt something had gone wrong, she told WITN, a local news station. She then scoured the neighborhood for her sons before circling back to the pond in her backyard.

“I saw Sebastian in the water. I didn’t know it was him at the time. I was praying to God it was a toy,” Zarlinga said. “When I got into the water, it was not.”

She hauled Sebastian out of the water and attempted to resuscitate him. First responders later arrived at the scene and found Benjamin in the pond.

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The boys were both transported to a hospital, but were pronounced dead on Sunday evening, according to WITN.

Zarlinga was also taken to a hospital, where she was treated for hypothermia. She said she is grateful to the first responders, who did the best they could to save her sons — and who comforted her in her time of need.

“The woman who pulled me out of the pond, she prayed over me that night,” Zarlinga said. “She took me through the woods and prayed over me the whole time we were walking.”

Denise Morrison, the boys’ grandmother, said that she prays that no one else has to endure the pain Zarlinga feels.

“I hope nobody ever has to holler their children’s name and not get a response,” Morrison said.

The brothers had been first grade students at a local elementary school, where they had numerous friends, the family said.

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Following the boys’ tragic deaths, a family friend set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses.

“Barbara Zarlinga has been my lifelong friend, and I have always admired her strength and kindness,” the page states. “The loss has left her and her family heartbroken, and they are now facing not only emotional pain but also significant financial challenges.”

More than $25,000 in donations have been raised for the family as of Wednesday afternoon.

Less than three weeks ago, another tragic drowning occurred in Texas — during a winter storm that blanketed much of the nation in snow.

Three brothers — ages 6, 8 and 9 — died after falling through a frozen pond behind a friend’s house in Fannin County. The boys’ mother, Cheyenne Hangaman, said she hoped that other parents would heed the perils of the icy conditions.

In late January, the National Weather Service warned of the “REAL and DEADLY danger of icy ponds and waterways.”

“There is no readily available data on the thickness of any ice anywhere across the Mid-South that we know of,” the agency said. “Please do not sled, walk, play or drive near bodies of water.”