Investigation into drowning of boy, 8, at public swimming pool

AN eight-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool in Co Meath yesterday evening.

An investigation has been launched into the death of the young boy, who got into difficulties in a public pool at the Aura Leisure Link in Navan at 4pm.

The child’s remains were taken to Navan General Hospital, where a postmortem will be carried out.

The pool is owned by Meath County Council and operated by Aura Sport and Leisure Management. An Aura spokesman said staff on duty were shocked and he expressed his condolences to the dead boy’s family.

“A number of people were in the pool at the time during a public swimming session,” he said. “The youngster was seen in difficulty and he was removed from the water by a lifeguard who attended to him at the poolside.

“The emergency procedure was activated, the pool evacuated and emergency services notified.”

Paramedics tried to resuscitate the youngster before he was taken to hospital. “The whole incident is a huge cause of shock and distress to the staff. The company would like to express its sincerest condolences to the family concerned,” said the spokesman.

The pool will remain closed today while management and gardaí examine the circumstances surrounding the drowning. Aura said there were eight qualified lifeguards on duty around the poolside at the time. The spokesman said while staff on duty are satisfied they did all they could, the investigation will examine all the procedures at the facility.