Girl, 7, drowns at birthday party
A LITTLE girl who could not swim drowned during her best friend’s birthday party, an inquest heard.
Maya Kantengule, seven, was found lifeless at the bottom of the 5ft pool and pulled out by her pal’s mum Jane Rainer, who had staged the celebration.
The 43-year-old, who did not realise Maya was a non-swimmer, tried but failed to revive her.
A teaching assistant said Maya had swimming lessons but she could only float with the help of buoyancy aids.
Parents at the party watched the 10 children in the pool in May last year at Waveney River Centre, Burgh St Peter, Norfolk. Mrs Rainer claimed she was never given guidelines for the pool.
But Waveney’s Daniel Gibbons said he would have told her it was non-supervised without a lifeguard.
Dad Livial Kantengule, 38, said Maya had lessons with her local Dell Primary School, Lowestoft, Suffolk, and he had “never heard anything about her struggling”. The inquest continues.