Father and two children die after drowning tragedy in holiday pool
A father and his two children have died after drowning in a swimming pool at a holiday resort in the Costa del Sol.
The three family members were found unresponsive in a swimming pool at Club La Costa World on Christmas Eve, a statement from holiday operator CLC World Resorts and Hotels said.
It is understood that the father and daughter are both British, while the son is American.
The incident occurred after the nine-year-old girl got into difficulties in the water and her brother, 16, and father, 52, attempted to rescue her, it has been reported.
A holidaymaker staying at the resort, which is near the town of Fuengirola, told the PA news agency she saw “bodies covered in white sheets” by the side of the pool, and could hear “a woman crying aloud”.
A local journalist, Fernando Torres, told the BBC it was a shocking scene.
“The resort workers heard the screaming and they tried to do CPR [resuscitation] as well, but they couldn’t help them. Then the emergency doctors came and they tried for 30-35 minutes, but they couldn’t revive them.”
Tanya Aamer, 23, from Birmingham, said: “The atmosphere as I was walking past is indescribable.
“Obviously we’ve never been in that situation before so we kind just began walking slowly in a slight state of confusion as to what we’re witnessing and eventually when we got to the bottom it was just silent, no talking or anything.”
CLC World Resorts and Hotels said that management were assisting the authorities “fully” with an investigation into the deaths at the resort.
The statement said: “Management at Club La Costa World resort would like to offer its heartfelt condolences to the family affected by the loss of three family members on December 24 2019. The guests were found unresponsive in one of the resort’s pools.
Hotel guest
First response teams and emergency services attended and administered first aid. Themanagementareassisting the authorities fully with their investigation into the deaths.
“We would like to thank our first response team and the emergency services for their quick and appropriate responses, and our staff for the continuing support of the family at this difficult time.”
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We are offering assistance to a British woman following an incident in Spain.”
Police divers were inspecting the swimming pool, including the pump, following the incident.
If the pool pump was involved, it would not be the first tragedy of its kind. In 2009, British schoolboy Nathan Clark drowned at a Thai water park after apparently being sucked into a pool’s pumping system.
“The atmosphere as I was walking past is indescribable”
TANYA AAMER