A 5-year-old child from India remained in a hotel pool in Kamari, Santorini, for more than 30 minutes after drowning due to ingesting a large amount of water.
Read: Santorini: Three arrests following 4-year-old’s drowning in pool
According to reports, the child had consumed a significant amount of food before entering the water and remained submerged for a considerable time, as his parents and other swimmers did not realize in time that he had fallen into the pool.
The father of the unfortunate child, aged 33, had also entered the pool without noticing that his son had gone in with him. When he realized the child was missing, he began searching for him, shouting his name around the pool perimeter. A fellow countryman, who was part of the same tourist group on the island and was also in the water, spotted the child and pulled him from the bottom of the pool. At the same time, the 37-year-old pool supervisor, a certified lifeguard, was at another pool and was not immediately available.
Santorini: Three arrests following 5-year-old’s drowning
Authorities proceeded to arrest the 38-year-old hotel manager, the pool supervisor, and the child’s father to investigate whether there was negligence or inadequate supervision.
The delayed rescue of the child proved fatal, as a hotel guest who was a doctor, together with emergency medical responders, attempted to revive the 5-year-old using a defibrillator and CPR, but were unsuccessful.
The child was transported to the hospital, where doctors continued resuscitation efforts for another hour, but in vain – it was too late.
Investigation into hotel safety violations
According to information, the depth of the pool where the child was found unconscious was 1.40 meters, with legislation requiring the mandatory presence of a lifeguard when pool depth exceeds 1.5 meters.
However, even at this depth, there should be a staff member with first aid certification present. Pool signage at the hotel indicated that only persons over 13 years of age were permitted.
Authorities continue their preliminary investigation to determine any responsibilities and omissions in the hotel’s operation and the safety measures maintained in the pool area.
