Six children have drowned in Spain within just 72 hours, prompting an urgent warning to holidaymakers after experts blamed a “tragic lack of supervision” for the deaths.
The deaths occurred across multiple regions, including Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia and the Canary Islands. Among them was a four-year-old British girl who died yesterday after drowning in a hotel swimming pool at a resort in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote. Emergency services made several unsuccessful attempts to revive her at the scene. A three-year-old Danish boy also died after nearly drowning in a swimming pool in Can Picafort, Santa Margalida, in Majorca, with health officials confirming he passed away in hospital yesterday after being rushed from the resort.
Health expert Sebastián Quintana said the pattern behind the six tragedies pointed overwhelmingly to a failure of parental supervision. “The lack of attention, supervision, or even absence at the bathing area by the adults in charge is the main cause of these human tragedies,” he said. “In nine out of every ten drownings where the victim is a child, we have detected a lack of care and supervision by mothers and fathers.”
Quintana warned that drowning often happens far more quickly and quietly than parents expect, urging tourists to remain vigilant at all times around water. “A child won’t scream for help,” he said. “Drowning is a very quick and silent event.”
