Three Brits drown in a Spanish hotel swimming pool

[Jippy]

Terrible tragedy and unimaginable for the mother to lose her 9 year old daughter, 16 year old son and husband in the same incident.

It's still not clear how it happened though and it's all the more confusing given the conflicting news stories, eg the surviving daughter reportedly saying they couldn't swim, the mother then saying they could.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-50929536

The mother is also adamant they were dragged into the deep part of the pool by the pool's pump or a suction issue, but the police found no problems with the pool.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ol-hotel-insists-pool-not-to-blame-for-deaths

The mother has now got legal representation too.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...wo-children-husband-drowned-legal-action.html

There's obviously a lot of raw emotion around the reactions and scope for mistranslations or just plain misreporting. Just curious what others think.

 

[utdalltheway]

I’ve been watching this one also.
Hard to imagine how 3 people could drown in a pool, even if they couldn’t swim. Surely a lifering was there to assist?

Early reports said they couldn’t swim but now the British lady is saying they could.
So, if they could all swim then it must’ve been a pool issue, right?
All sorts of theories have been advances from faulty electrics, overpowering suction pump, too much chemicals..... but the Spanish authorities are saying the pool is fine.
Strange.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

I probably came close to drowning in a hotel pool when I was a eight or nine years old, so it seems it could happen if you can't swim well.

Three at once is odd enough to demand some form of review, though.

 

[sullydnl]

Does seem very strange for three people to drown at once, particularly as only one was a child.

Presumably it's either the case that something was wrong with the pool itself or something incapacitated the swimmers. The latter of which seems less likely going by the mother's description.

Though I suppose anything is possible if they were inexperienced swimmers and they panicked.

 

[Wibble]

Young kid gets in trouble and thevothervtwo jumoed in despite being unable to swim (or virtually so) will be what happened in this terribke tragedy. No pool pump is strong enough to suck adult swimmers under. Resort pools often don't require a life guard - use at your own risk.

Everyone should be taught to swim from birth as it is a basic skill everyone needs.

 

[utdalltheway]

Young kid gets in trouble and thevothervtwo jumoed in despite being unable to swim (or virtually so) will be what happened in this terribke tragedy. No pool pump is strong enough to suck adult swimmers under. Resort pools often don't require a life guard - use at your own risk.

Everyone should be taught to swim from birth as it is a basic skill everyone needs.

Swimming lessons are compulsory in some countries. And should be in all.

And swimming is a sport, that could save your life.

 

[Wibble]

Swimming lessons are compulsory in some countries. And should be in all.

And swimming is a sport, that could save your life.

Compulsory swimming lessons are good but often start far too late. Shortly after birth is the time to start. Students who have a fear of water, usually due to parental water fear, rarely learn to swim properly from the limited school based compulsory lessons. Better than nothing of course.

 

[Penna]

I've been reading all the news reports about this, because it just seemed so bizarre. I understand that a small girl could get into difficulties, but how could a man and 16-year-old lad drown in a hotel swimming pool? There are no currents and it surely wasn't that deep?

I didn't like the fact that they re-opened the pool the very next day, either. That seemed very inappropriate.

edit - I've just read that the deep part was 6ft 6".

 

[sun_tzu]

I struggle to imagine what kind of error on a pool could suck three people (who may or may not be able to swim) into water so deep that they all died

Just off the top of my head the chap must be what 6 foot so it's going to have to be deep... And a current so strong they can't get to the edge

Wait for the investigation but I have a nagging doubt there is more to this than a seemingly unexplainable pool malfunction

 

[Sky1981]

I've been reading all the news reports about this, because it just seemed so bizarre. I understand that a small girl could get into difficulties, but how could a man and 16-year-old lad drown in a hotel swimming pool? There are no currents and it surely wasn't that deep?

I didn't like the fact that they re-opened the pool the very next day, either. That seemed very inappropriate.

edit - I've just read that the deep part was 6ft 6".

Something must have happened. It's just the matter of what.

 

[MDFC Manager]

I've heard anecdotes where a rescuer gets pulled under by a drowning person. Then, panic kicks in and they all drown.

Not sure myself as I can't swim either.

 

[golden_blunder]

If they jumped into the 6ft 6 deep end and the pool is cold then that would be enough to get into trouble

 

[Pexbo]

Regardless of whether or not there was a fault with the pool, if it's 6ft 6in deep and on Hotel premises there is absolutely no excuse for not having a life guard on duty. All it needs is one supervisor and a body hook and this would be avoided.

 

[Damien]

Young kid gets in trouble and thevothervtwo jumoed in despite being unable to swim (or virtually so) will be what happened in this terribke tragedy. No pool pump is strong enough to suck adult swimmers under. Resort pools often don't require a life guard - use at your own risk.

Everyone should be taught to swim from birth as it is a basic skill everyone needs.

The mother said they could all swim.

When I first heard about it, my initial reaction was that the girl's hair had got trapped in some sort of suction, the other two dived to try and save her, she was panicking, they were panicking and all died but it seems that is disputed.

You can be a good swimmer, but in a tragic situation like that when multiple people are in trouble and all are panicking, anything could happen.

 

[senorgregster]

I just can't see who a grown man and near grown man drown without a malfunction. I wouldn't be surprised if electricity was involved. Perhaps a malfunctioning underwater light.

 

[Wibble]

The mother said they could all swim.

When I first heard about it, my initial reaction was that the girl's hair had got trapped in some sort of suction, the other two dived to try and save her, she was panicking, they were panicking and all died but it seems that is disputed.

You can be a good swimmer, but in a tragic situation like that when multiple people are in trouble and all are panicking, anything could happen.

It was a pool, not a jacuzzi. Three good swimmers do not die in such situations. Often people who come from non-swimming backgrounds think that being able to doggy paddle for a short time in 3 ft of water means that you can swim. It doesn't.

Sadly

 

[Wibble]

I've been reading all the news reports about this, because it just seemed so bizarre. I understand that a small girl could get into difficulties, but how could a man and 16-year-old lad drown in a hotel swimming pool? There are no currents and it surely wasn't that deep?

I didn't like the fact that they re-opened the pool the very next day, either. That seemed very inappropriate.

edit - I've just read that the deep part was 6ft 6".

.
Almost certainly all 3 were very poor or non-swimmers.

 

[2mufc0]

Sad news. Learning to float is a basic skill everyone should know.

 

[Jippy]

I've been reading all the news reports about this, because it just seemed so bizarre. I understand that a small girl could get into difficulties, but how could a man and 16-year-old lad drown in a hotel swimming pool? There are no currents and it surely wasn't that deep?

I didn't like the fact that they re-opened the pool the very next day, either. That seemed very inappropriate.

edit - I've just read that the deep part was 6ft 6".

That did seem a bit off, but this report says the police cleared it for reopening the next day, but the hotel has kept it shut out of respect.
It's another example of the lack of clarity around the facts of the case.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ol-hotel-insists-pool-not-to-blame-for-deaths

 

[VeevaVee]

Why would the police want the pool to be reopened the next day and not studied more?
Seems fishy to me.

 

[Buster15]

Swimming lessons are compulsory in some countries. And should be in all.

And swimming is a sport, that could save your life.

Agree completely. My father drowned, albeit in the sea. But I made sure that I learnt to swim and lifesave and my daughters both became very good swimmers.

EDIT. Does anyone know the swimming pool depths.

 

[Jippy]

Why would the police want the pool to be reopened the next day and not studied more?
Seems fishy to me.

I guess they'd finished whatever tests they needed to do and had exonerated it to their satisfaction, so the hotel was free to open it again.

Does seem odd the deep part was apparently in the middle of the pool. Don't remember ever seeing that.

 

[VeevaVee]

I guess they'd finished whatever tests they needed to do and had exonerated it to their satisfaction, so the hotel was free to open it again.

Doesn't seem right to me. What if a suggestion that hadn't been considered was brought up? They can't look in to it.

 

[senorgregster]

I guess they'd finished whatever tests they needed to do and had exonerated it to their satisfaction, so the hotel was free to open it again.

Does seem odd the deep part was apparently in the middle of the pool. Don't remember ever seeing that.

The pools in gyms here do that but not 6ft 6.

 

[senorgregster]

https://sunplay.com/blogs/posts/truth-pool-electrocution

A couple of examples of pool electrocution. Let's hope they checked the wiring before reopening!

 

[Jippy]

Doesn't seem right to me. What if a suggestion that hadn't been considered was brought up? They can't look in to it.

It does seem a bit odd and I'm sure plenty of people will be in no rush to go into that pool anyway.

 

[Kag]

.
Almost certainly all 3 were very poor or non-swimmers.

The wife has since said they could swim.

There’s something extremely uncomfortable about the speed at which the Spanish authorities and hotel management have communicated their apparent findings.

 

[Maagge]

You'd expect the fuse to pop before electrocuting someone, surely?
Unless it's a shoddy installation.

 

[Adisa]

The excuse the Spanish are giving sounds like complete tosh to me. That woman deserves justice.

 

[barros]

I probably came close to drowning in a hotel pool when I was a eight or nine years old, so it seems it could happen if you can't swim well.

Three at once is odd enough to demand some form of review, though.

Almost lost my son in a pool, I was seating by the pool with my back to the steps and my son walked in and the reason he’s here today was because he was able to come back, I turned my back when I heard him coughing water and crying, when we back home I bought a pool and taught all my kids to swim. Still in my mind my son was drowning behind my back and the only thing I had to do was grabbing him without moving, that’s how close he was.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Almost lost my son in a pool, I was seating by the pool with my back to the steps and my son walked in and the reason he’s here today was because he was able to come back, I turned my back when I heard him coughing water and crying, when we back home I bought a pool and taught all my kids to swim. Still in my mind my son was drowning behind my back and the only thing I had to do was grabbing him without moving, that’s how close he was.

Think we've all had near misses at some point on holiday but this case has more unexplained things going on.
Some say they couldn't swim, someone else saying they could.
Problems with the pool but that has been ruled out.
Pool reopened.

All very strange and sad at the same time

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Almost lost my son in a pool, I was seating by the pool with my back to the steps and my son walked in and the reason he’s here today was because he was able to come back, I turned my back when I heard him coughing water and crying, when we back home I bought a pool and taught all my kids to swim. Still in my mind my son was drowning behind my back and the only thing I had to do was grabbing him without moving, that’s how close he was.

A kind stranger noticed me struggling to reach the edge and he leaned over, grabbed my hand and pulled me in. I'd have gone under in a second or two without his help.

Thanks random guy, wherever you are now.

 

[senorgregster]

You'd expect the fuse to pop before electrocuting someone, surely?
Unless it's a shoddy installation.

It's usually due to shoddy installation. I remember getting a couple little zaps swimming by a light once and for some crazy reason thinking nothing of it at the time.

 

[senorgregster]

Almost lost my son in a pool, I was seating by the pool with my back to the steps and my son walked in and the reason he’s here today was because he was able to come back, I turned my back when I heard him coughing water and crying, when we back home I bought a pool and taught all my kids to swim. Still in my mind my son was drowning behind my back and the only thing I had to do was grabbing him without moving, that’s how close he was.

That's a parents worst nightmare. Glad he was ok.

 

[carvajal]

The civil guard found clothes in the pool suction system, however the same system worked properly.

In any case I do not know what power the device reaches in these types of pools to prevent an adult man from leaving.
Some time ago I tried to teach a friend to swim in a pool. After the basic lessons, my radical method was to let him go to defend himself. The guy got nervous and grabbed me so hard that took me to the bottom. In the end I could escape kicking him, grabbing me to the buoy and then catching him.
Perhaps they suffered a similar situation.

 

[Wibble]

The civil guard found clothes in the pool suction system, however the same system worked properly.

In any case I do not know what power the device reaches in these types of pools to prevent an adult man from leaving.
Some time ago I tried to teach a friend to swim in a pool. After the basic lessons, my radical method was to let him go to defend himself. The guy got nervous and grabbed me so hard that took me to the bottom. In the end I could escape kicking him, grabbing me to the buoy and then catching him.
Perhaps they suffered a similar situation.

The filter box on the skimmer system is presumably what they are talking about and that is the system's job. It would be suprising if this had anything to do with the drowning.

The only cases I've heard like this were in spa pools where long hair or bits of clothing went into the recirculation system motor and people were held underwater. Even in a home inground pool the pump motor is far to far away from the pool for this to happen so I'd doubt that happened in a resort pool.

If it had anything to do with electricity it will show up in the autopsy you would think.

In a past life I was a scuba instructor and later a lifeguard and pool supervisor and poor swimmers often vastly overestimate their swimming ability which might explain the wife saying they could swim, especially if she isn't a swimmer or a poor swimmer.

Of course it could be otherwise and an attempted cover up of something dodgy but I think accident caused by poor swimmers panicing is most likely. Sadly.

 

[Wibble]

https://sunplay.com/blogs/posts/truth-pool-electrocution

A couple of examples of pool electrocution. Let's hope they checked the wiring before reopening!

Pool light are 12 volts so electrocution can only occur when the grounding wiring (or similar) is accidentally wired badly and feeds mains power to the metal bits that are also connected to earth e.g. handrails. If this were the case here it would not self correct and people would be getting electrocuted when the pool reopened. A fix wouldn't be quick. If electrical work was done at or just before the incident then the chances of this being the case increase and will be confirmed by the autopsy.

 

[carvajal]

The filter box on the skimmer system is presumably what they are talking about and that is the system's job. It would be suprising if this had anything to do with the drowning.

The only cases I've heard like this were in soa pools where long hair or bits of clothing went into the recirculation system motor and people were held underwater. Even in a home inground pool the pump motor is far to far away from the pool for this to happen so I'd doubt that happened in a resort pool.

If it had anything to do with electricity it will show up in the autopsy you would think.

In a past life I was a scuba instructor and later a lifeguard and pool supervisor and poor swimmers often vastly overestimate their swimming ability which might explain the wife saying they could swim, especially if she isn't a swimmer or a poor swimmer.

Of course it could be otherwise and an attempted cover up of something dodgy but I think accident caused by poor swimmers panicing is most likely. Sadly.

Yes, a pity. Imagine the scene of the other sister at the edge of the pool and the mother waiting for them to be revived. Terrible. The strange thing is the father. In the deepest part the pool has two meters. If he was running out of air, he could give a little impulse to breathe

 

[senorgregster]

Pool light are 12 volts so electrocution can only occur when the grounding wiring (or similar) is accidentally wired badly and feeds mains power to the metal bits that are also connected to earth e.g. handrails. If this were the case here it would not self correct and people would be getting electrocuted when the pool reopened. A fix wouldn't be quick. If electrical work was done at or just before the incident then the chances of this being the case increase and will be confirmed by the autopsy.

Good points.

 

[Honest John]

It does seem a bit odd and I'm sure plenty of people will be in no rush to go into that pool anyway.

I stayed on that very complex back in 2005. The pool looks very similar to the one near our apartment although there are several on the site. I have to say the whole thing looks extremely bizarre to me. I would wager that we are going to hear a lot more about this.