A 13-year-old boy died in Mount Airy, Maryland, after floodwaters trapped him in a storm drain Thursday night.

The victim was outside at around 5:20 p.m., when the storm was at its peak, the Mount Airy Police Department said on social media. 

A nearby resident, Chadwick Colson, told Baltimore’s WJZ-TV that kids were “playing around, jumping across the water, because when it rains, it really kind of comes through here like a river.”

First responders tried to rescue the boy, but their efforts transitioned to recovery. Police said the victim died of injuries sustained during the incident.

“Two or three of the firefighters went in the water to assist him, and they tried to affect the rescue, but the pressure of the moving water and the small diameter of the pipe made it very difficult for them to affect the rescue,” Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company spokesman Doug Alexander told Washington’s WTOP-FM.

The torrential rain filled a stormwater pond across the street from the drain, which contributed to the overflow in the drainage ditch.

“The amount of water in there was just tremendous. The flow was so great that this child didn’t have a chance to — once he was in it, he couldn’t get out,” Mr. Alexander said.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.