The uncle of twin sisters who died after they were found in a community pool at a Deerfield Beach apartment complex said the family is devastated by the tragedy.
"It's just tragic, it's sad that it ended like this," Johnta Johnson said Wednesday.
A day earlier, Johnson said 2-year-old twins Harmony and Harmani West had been impatient to go swimming shortly before the fatal incident.
"They've been hollering 'water, water, water,' you know, they want to go swimming, they've been to the beach the last two weekends," Johnson said. "They're very smart, very intelligent, so they can reach the door, they can open the door, they can walk down the steps."
Johnson said the girls made their way to their favorite spot, the pool at the Tivoli Park apartment complex at 743 Siesta Key Terrace, while their parents slept. They also slipped past a broken gate.
"They just walked out there and wanted to take a swim, that's all," Johnson said.
But the girls did not know how to swim and by the time a man and woman spotted their lifeless bodies in the water, it was too late.
Guervide Janvier, who lives downstairs from the family, said she saw the family often.
"The parents are good," Janvier said, while mourning the loss of the children. "They're always happy, always laughing."
The Broward Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident.
