8-year-old boy drowns in swimming pool

swim

My sympathies firstly go to the family of the boy. It is a terrible tragedy.

I have worked in various pools and leisure centres.

I would like to know first, before making a judgement. How many of the 6 or 8 lifeguards(some newspapers are saying there were 8 on duty) who were on duty were watching the pool at the time of the accident?
Were any of them cleaning changing rooms, as is part of the job of a lifeguard. Were any of them on a lunch break?
Did the boy have any previous medical conditions that may have led to his accident?

A lot of pools have a rule that children aged 8 and under have to be accompanied by an adult at all times. Some pools have it for 7 years and under.

if it comes out that all were on deck there is no excuse for what happened, none whatsoever. They are responsible for safety on the deck of the pool.

Stark

He was pulled out of the water when he got into difficulty but he died at the poolside. Sounds like he could well have had a prior condition that caused him to get into trouble.

MagicMarker

swim wrote: »

if it comes out that all were on deck there is no excuse for what happened, none whatsoever. They are responsible for safety on the deck of the pool.

Even if there were 80 people in the pool?

swim

Yes, 80 people is enough for 8 lifeguards to watch, in my opinion. Others may differ.
On some beaches in Ireland there are around 5-7 lifeguards and it depends on the weather day as to how many they have to watch. If its a sunny day it could be 200-300 people.

If he had a previous condition then the situation would be different.

Most pools have a got a limit of the number of people that they let in.
80 sounds like a lot in a pool, but if 20-30 of them were adults it is a little easier to watch. However if all 80 were children it can be difficult.

But the lifeguards are trained to watch the pool at all times...

As I said this is only my opinion and I wait to hear the official report

SV

stovelid wrote: »

I doubt many will so why don't you leave the modding to the mods?

I'm just saying piss off to those before they do come in, as I'd only end up coming back to say it anyway. It's not modding at all.
and it's AH, you doubt many will? Come on now..

pickarooney wrote: »

Fair enough, but why do people post this kind of thread in AH? There's a News and Media forum whose charter covers serious topical news issues; they're not suitable for this forum IMO.

Why not?
AH isn't ALL about jokes and laughs.
If this is expected on these kinds of threads then what on earth is the lolocaust for?

stovelid

SV wrote: »

AH isn't ALL about jokes and laughs.

Are you promulgating a new charter here?

SV

stovelid wrote: »

Are you promulgating a new charter here?

No, why would you think I am?
That's just how I view it.

Red Sleeping Beauty

pickarooney wrote: »

Fair enough, but why do people post this kind of thread in AH? There's a News and Media forum whose charter covers serious topical news issues; they're not suitable for this forum IMO.

A Current Affairs forum is needed
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/search.php?searchid=8083533
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=61336950

walshb

I heard there was maybe 60 people in the pool, 2/3 full and the 8 year old went there with his sister and 18 yearl old brother. The brother left to bring the sister home and the the tragedy happened. I think it's too early to be blaming lifeguards and even if they were on duty and alert, it still is not a guarantee that a child is safe completely.

A crowded and noisy and possibly boisterous pool, a small 8 year old goes unnoticed for a couple of seconds, inhales water and is dead.

Now, if they were shown to be doddling, then yes, they should be held accountable, but even alert and taking the job serious, it's very hard job to ensure EVERYONE is safe and well ad nobody is in any danger

Carsinian Thau

walshb wrote: »

I heard there was maybe 60 people in the pool, 2/3 full and the 8 year old went there with his sister and 18 yearl old brother. The brother left to bring the sister home and the the tragedy happened. I think it's too early to be blaming lifeguards and even if they were on duty and alert, it still is not a guarantee that a child is safe completely.

A crowded and noisy and possibly boisterous pool, a small 8 year old goes unnoticed for a couple of seconds, inhales water and is dead.

Now, if they were shown to be doddling, then yes, they should be held accountable, but even alert and taking the job serious, it's very hard job to ensure EVERYONE is safe and well ad nobody is in any danger

+1

I think there was about 1 lifeguard there for every 10 swimmers. That would make it rather difficult for them to keep an eye on everyone.

Especially if he had an underlying condition which would have caused him to get into difficulty quickly.

As regards the lifeguards, the investigative report is the only thing that will shed light on this. But personally, I intend to view this as a tragedy for all involved. And that the lifeguards do not deserve to be demonised without proof.

soundsham

why is this here
should be in news

sorry find it so so wrong

Ally Dick

I have an opinion on this. I live in Navan and I use the gym facilities in the same building that this happened. One thing I have witnessed is loads of young children on their own, knocking around outside and inside the pool. I have seen several coloured women leaving their kids in the library as well as the pool. They treat both places as a type of babysitting facilities. One of my friends is a librarian and he says it is not unusual for mothers to leave their kids in the library for hours at a time. Now that this terrible tragedy has happened, I can see the pool tightening up on who gets in. They'll insist on parental supervision. Also, from looking in at the pool, it seems to get extremely packed. If they are doing one euro admission on Thursdays, that isn't a surprise. They will need to start limiting the numbers in the pool. To my mind 80 people is far too much. By the way, I suspect that the talk of 8 bodyguards is a fib of sorts to stop them getting into trouble. They may have 8 bodyguards on their books but not there all at the same time.

laugh

Ally Dick wrote: »

I suspect that the talk of 8 bodyguards is a fib of sorts to stop them getting into trouble. They may have 8 bodyguards on their books but not there all at the same time.

what now?

mufc4lfe

laugh wrote: »

what now?

I assume she means lifeguards!Dont act silly in the mist of this awful tragedy.Fair points Ally.