Swift staff rescue boy in pool

SWIFT action by lifeguards saved a young boy from drowning in the pool of a popular holiday village.

The lifesaving team at Trabolgan Holiday Village in East Cork was praised yesterday for averting tragedy. But they declined to comment publicly on their heroics.

A spokeswoman said they didn’t want publicity because as far as they are concerned, they were just doing their job. “They are however delighted that the young boy is OK,” she said.

The averted tragedy came to light on the Neil Prendeville radio programme on 96FM yesterday.

The four-year-old boy from Cork was swimming in the complex’s large pool on Sunday afternoon. There were about 30 people in the water at the time.

It is understood that his parents were not in the pool, or in the pool complex, at the time, and that the boy was in the care of a relative, aged about 20, who was swimming with him.

However, the boy got into difficulty in the water when the 20-year-old left the pool momentarily. Four lifeguards were on active duty on the wall surrounding the pool while a further four pool complex staff were on duty in the immediate area.

The spokeswoman said that when it became apparent the young boy was in trouble, the lifeguard team activated a “full emergency procedure”.

“They are fully trained to deal with such situations,” she said. “The child was removed from the pool area and attended to by the lifeguard staff. The child was then taken to hospital by ambulance.”

One shocked eyewitness said the young boy was unconscious and blue when he was pulled from the water.

Two lifeguards administered mouth-to-mouth and cardiac pulmonary resuscitation on the pool side and battled for several minutes before the boy came round.

His parents became aware of the situation and rushed in to the pool complex where they were reunited with their son.

He was taken to Cork University Hospital and was kept overnight for observation. He was discharged yesterday having fully recovered from his ordeal.

In August, an eight-year-old boy drowned in a public swimming pool in Navan, Co Meath.

Isaac Agaba got into difficulty while swimming at the town’s Aura leisure centre on August 20.

He was taken to OurLady’s Hospital in the town, but was pronounced dead.

There were up to 80people in the pool when the incident happened and there were eight lifeguards on duty.