A three-year-old British girl has died almost two weeks after falling ‘unattended’ into a hotel swimming pool while on holiday with her family on the Greek island of Rhodes
A three-year-old British girl has died 12 days after she fell into a hotel swimming pool while on holiday with her family in Greece.
The child, named only as Matilda, had been on holiday in Lardos, a seaside resort village on the island of Rhodes, when tragedy struck. She was found unconscious at the bottom of a pool at a hotel complex after her 44-year-old uncle – who had been responsible for supervising her – allegedly left her alone for around 10 minutes.
She died in a hospital in England on Sunday, following several days in critical condition in hospitals in Rhodes and Crete before being airlifted home. A British doctor who was at the scene jumped into the water to rescue the child before performing CPR until paramedics arrived. The girl was taken to the General hospital of Rhodes and later to Crete before being taken back to the UK.
An investigation has found that the on-site safety measures at the hotel were minimal, with no designated supervisor present, no lifeguard on duty and no rescue equipment available at the pool.
A 54-year-old manager of a travel agency responsible for the hotel’s guests as well as the girl’s uncle have been arrested by police and are now facing charges over her death. The hotel owner, 57, and the hotel’s director are also facing charges.
Antonis Zervos, the uncle’s lawyer, has argued that his client “did not see and was not near the child”, while the hotel manager’s lawyer is claiming that the pool was not big enough to legally require a lifeguard to be present.
Police have reviewed CCTV footage to understand the circumstances of the incident and say their investigation is ongoing. A woman lying on a sunbed saw her, pulled her out, and raised the alarm.
The family were told early on by hospital doctors that Matilda’s condition was extremely serious and that the brain injury she had suffered was irreversible.
Michalis Sokorelos, the hospital’s director, described her condition as “brain dead”. He said: “The child obviously stayed in the water for a long time. She is not reacting at all.”
This comes just days after another Brit died while on holiday in the Canary Islands.
A 56-year-old man died after a hotel railing ‘gave way’, causing him to fall nearly 20ft. Another tourist, aged 54, was seriously injured in the same incident at the Costa Teguise resort in Lanzarote.
The Civil Guard has launched an investigation to determine if there was negligence in the upkeep of the railing or in the hotel’s security measures.
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