CHILD FIGHTS FOR HIS LIFE
Eight-year-old Scottish boy in IC after drowning in resort swimming pool
An incident at the pool of the Magic Robin Hood resort last Sunday has left an 8-year-old Scottish child in a critical condition. Blair Scott was on a family holiday with his three siblings when two holidaymakers found him lying at the bottom of the pool.
There has been much criticism that the lifeguard on duty failed to spot the young child and that he was actually rescued by the two who discovered him.
The hotel group has issued a statement on the incident, which is summarised as follows:
'A private company provides the lifeguards for the hotel, who are based in Alicante.'
As per regulations, it is confirmed that four lifeguards were on duty around the poolside in addition to one at each slide.
At around 12.00, Olivia Brolly, a British female guest at the hotel noticed an underage unresponsive boy at the bottom of the pool and immediately got the attention of a fellow British guest – David Lee, to help rescue the child, alerting the closest lifeguard on duty and the emergency services.
Once out of the water it was observed that the child had been wearing goggles and a snorkel - CPR and first aid was administered at the poolside assisted by four off duty Spanish guests, two of which were nurses, one firefighter and a local police officer.
At the same time hotel staff were trying to locate the parents/guardians of the child, who were not in the immediate vicinity of the pool and took 20 minutes to arrive at the scene from when the child was first spotted.
Emergency services took over on arrival and an ambulance transferred the child to an air ambulance that had landed close by at the Trinquet car park and taken straight to Alicante General University Hospital, where at time of going to press, he remains sedated in Intensive Care.
Close family friends are arriving today (Friday) to escort the remaining siblings back to the UK whilst the parents are being offered consular support.
Thoughts and prayers are being offered by all of the expat community to the family.