Drowning

Drowning and Sims
Drowning is a form of death in The Sims, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. Drowning is the second form of death which covers all the ages between child to elder, the other being fire. A Sim will drown in a pool when there is no means of getting out. In The Sims and The Sims 2, deleting a pool ladder takes away the Sim's only means of escape. However, in The Sims 3, Sims can climb out of the pool without a ladder, so players who want to keep a Sim from getting out of a pool must use a wall to block them. When Sims can't get out of a pool, they will keep swimming until their energy is used up. When this happens, they will die of fatigue. In The Sims 3, sims with the hydrophobe trait cannot drown.

The Grim Reaper
When a Sim drowns, the Grim Reaper arrives as usual. However, players generally cannot have another Sim plead with him as with other means of death, as Sims will not be able to get to him while he is in the in the middle of the pool. Therefore, the Sim who has drowned likely has no chance of regaining life, unless they are resurrected.

Drowned Ghosts
In The Sims 2, the ghost of a Sim who has drowned will be a shade of blue and will often create puddles or flood a room while they walk about. Other Sims may have to mop this up. Sometimes they will leap into bathtubs and start the bath water. Afterwards, they will jump out.

In The Sims 3, the ghost of a drowned Sim is still blue, and they have water dripping from their body, but it won't create puddles. (It might be assumed to be ghostly water).

Notable Drowned Sims

 * Skip Broke, resident of Pleasantview and father of Dustin and Beau Broke, and former husband of Brandi Broke, mysteriously drowned in a pool accident.
 * Willow Nigmos, sister of Olive Specter, was drowned. Her tombstone rests in Olive's yard.
 * Ichabod Specter also died of drowning.
 * Erik Darling, Agnes Crumplebottom's husband drowned, which led to her beating everyone with her purse.
 * Tragic Clown in The Sims 3 drowned.

One thing about drowning is that it requires deliberate action by the player. Sims can't drown by themselves.