A six-year-old Belgian boy has died after getting into difficulty in a swimming pool at a hotel near Barcelona, in an incident that has prompted an investigation into whether safety regulations were being followed and added to a rising toll of drownings across Catalonia this summer.
A six-year-old boy from Belgium has drowned in a swimming pool at a hotel in Calella, on Spain’s Costa del Maresme, while on holiday with his mother. The child, who had travelled from Brussels to spend time on the Catalan coast, got into trouble in the water at the Hotel H Top Olympic before being found floating by other bathers. Emergency services were called to the scene at 5.55pm on Sunday, but the boy could not be saved despite extended efforts by paramedics. Eyewitnesses said no lifeguard had been on duty at the pool, which reached depths of five metres in places.
Emergency response
At least four local police patrols, along with medics, attended the scene after being alerted. Emergency responders performed advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation for an extended period, but were unable to revive the child. The boy’s body was subsequently transferred for a forensic examination, a standard procedure in accidental drowning cases in Spain.
The boy’s mother, who had travelled to Catalonia with her son for a ten-day holiday, suffered an anxiety attack following the incident and was treated by psychologists sent to the scene. According to eyewitnesses cited by Spanish newspaper ABC, crisis counsellors remained with her for several hours afterwards, providing ongoing support.
Investigation launched
The Civil Guard and local police have opened an investigation into the exact circumstances surrounding the boy’s death, including whether all relevant safety regulations at the pool were being observed. Spanish authorities are expected to examine whether the hotel was legally required to have a lifeguard on duty at the time, noting that such requirements can vary depending on the pool’s characteristics and local regulations.
Part of a wider rise in drownings this summer
The child’s death brings the total number of swimming pool drownings in Catalonia since June to seven, with around 20 further people, most of them minors, injured in similar incidents over the same period. The figures mark a sharp increase compared with the previous year: between June 15 and September 15 last summer, four people died in drowning incidents at Catalan swimming pools, a total already surpassed this year within just the first few weeks of the season.
Catalan emergency services have reported a higher-than-usual number of water-related incidents so far this summer compared with previous years, and local authorities have renewed calls for families to maintain constant supervision of children around swimming pools during the peak holiday period.
Separately, a 76-year-old French man also drowned on Sunday at a beach in Castelló d’Empúries, in Girona, after reportedly fainting, according to local media reports.
