Young girl drowns in Sharm

[Kendhni]

Another very sad story

I listened to the news piece by the grand mother and I am afraid I have to disagree with her .. she should be asking where her son was, not where the life guard was.

[Manoverboard]

We left our boys with their Grandmother on a beach in Bournemouth albeit many years ago and the little one vanished from sight and was eventually picked up by the ' life guards ' (?) trying to climb over an outlet pipe ... we got a right load of earache, no problem but short of chaining them up it is not a simple matter to know where they are every minute of the day even if that is your specific intention.

I agree with Grandma, the little girl was the family's responsibility of course but if you run a holiday complex with pools and small children then supervision is absolutely essential.

[Onelife]

Every parent’s nightmare...very sad indeed.

The parents/grand mother will have a lifetime to reflect on whose responsibility it was to oversee “their” child’s safety....

[Kendhni]

I agree with Grandma, the little girl was the family's responsibility of course but if you run a holiday complex with pools and small children then supervision is absolutely essential.

Which is where the parent comes in ... or at worst they should at least check if there is a lifeguard on duty and then take a decision from that .. but even if there is a lifeguard on duty that does not absolve the parent of responsibility or in any way delegate their responsibility to someone else. The lifeguard may be dealing with someone else or may have stepped down for a call of nature.

Also you should never assume that foreign countries have the same H&S legislation as over here ... although even with all our H&S, accidents still occur.

[Boris+]

Hang on a minute, shouldn't this little girl have been in school?

It is truly sad; and I will repeat my thoughts on a different thread - water (from garden ponds to the big wide ocean), and heights (cliffs and mountains) etc are not playthings. They do provide loads of enjoyment, but people must (repeat must) us them in a very responsible manner.

I feel so sorry for this family, but if the child had been in school then possibly she would still be alive today.

Em

[Manoverboard]

The parents will know it was their own responsibility and will live with it for the rest of their lives.

However ...

Families with little ones will take them to places where they ' believe ' they will be safe and no doubt the Holiday Complex's brochure highlighted how safe and family friendly they are.

Perhaps the parents even checked with their TA in the UK who booked this holiday to establish that it was operated to British safety standeards as used to be the case with Spanish Hotels in the early days.

ps ... the UK Operator should stop using this Complex until their standards are up to UK Standards where the safety of children is involved.

[Dancing Queen]

We all know children will wander off but where was the father when she did and how long before he "missed" her or more to the point what was he doing at the time, as usual the media only print what they want us to read.

Very tragic but the ultimate responsibility surely lies with the parent.

[Onelife]

Having looked at the picture of this little girl I would place her age between 4-7 years old. Now I know when our daughter was this age we wouldn’t have let her out of our sight in the local swimming pool (with life guards) let alone a pool in a foreign resort. One can only hope through this tragedy parents will be made more aware of what can happen should they take their eyes off their children, especially so when the life guards probably had their eyes on the other young ladies.

[JenniC]

She was 6 years old and her name was Chloe, the same age and name as my granddaughter. My heart goes out to the parents and grandparents. But no matter how many lifeguards are on duty, we are talking maybe 50-100 children in the pool all playing, splashing around and for the lifeguards an almost impossibility to see everyone of them all of time. Ultimately it is the parents responsibility to watch them in the pool, or indeed be in there with them. My son, DIL, OH and I would not let our Chloe in the pool on her own, and she is a good swimmer... One of us would be with her 100% of the time. Nevertheless a real tragedy .

[HK phooey]

This is heartbreaking. I was shocked to read in one report (don't know how true it was) that the parents had left her playing with a friend for 5 minutes while they went to get a drink. If that's true, they shouldn't have left her at all. Boris, get over yourself.

[Onelife]

I’ve only just caught the tail end of a news report, apparently there were no lifeguards on duty at the time of this tragedy...

[paultheeagle]

It was a tragic accident.....Accident's do still happen...A little girl has died, a family devastated...This ain't the time to pay the blame game.

Or is just me?

[gfwgfw]

Surely this thread is not a good idea so soon after the event

Let's wait until all the facts are forth coming related to this very sad incidence

My thoughts are with Chloe's family

[gfwgfw]

Please excuse me Paul

Your post was not showing when I posted, hence my close similarity to your thoughts

Again I respect you as a very level headed contributor on this and other forums

Best wishes

Graham

[paultheeagle]

Graham...No problem

[Kendhni]

Graham, that is why this is a chatboard where people chat ... or maybe I am strange in that I discuss news events and their consequences with others? I am sure you also discuss news stories with friends and family.

If you are uncomfortable with a subject then the best bet is to ignore it. But once someone decides to go public with a story then you have to accept that people are going to discuss it, and as long as it is done in a respectful manner (which, in my opinion, this thread has been) then that is what matters. Nearly every poster has made it clear that this is a very sad tragic event.

I hope many families are discussing this news story so that on their next holiday they will check to see if there are lifeguards, what times they are present at and/or keep an even closer eye on their children.

[paultheeagle]

Talk about it by all means, warn children about things like this no problem..The sooner the better.....But it serves no purpose at this stage to play the blame game....whose fault it was, if indeed it was anyones fault can be discussed at a later date.

[Dancing Queen]

I don't think anyone is "blaming" but it does seem natural ( to me anyway ) to ask where the parents were, this little girl may have been very responsible for her age and they may have felt she would be safe leaving her for a few minutes especially if other children were around, another time another place she might have been but sadly she wasn't.

[Andrea S]

No one is 100% safe near water , even when it is only a few inches deep. We read so many tragic cases . Children are always fascinated by water.
Parents should be extra vigil in a busy place.
Our 7 year old Granddaughter loves the water slide in the toddlers pool where we holiday but it is always a race with other kiddies to get to the top first. Last year a little boy slipped and went down the slide head first. All the Dads and Granddads were in the pool so
he came to no harm but that is how accidents can happen.

Em, At a time of distress within a family it us rather a crass statement with regards to a child not being at school.
Our Granddaughters school breaks up for half term on Wednesday for half term. 2 weeks plus 2 inset days.
Local schools are in the 5 term system which gives shorter Sumner holidays and evened out during the year.
Whatever the reason in this case it was the parents decision.

[Kendhni]

I used to give off to my SIL because I felt she molly-coddled my nephews on holiday ... when I hear such stories I believe she is 100% right to sit by the pool watching them all day every day.

[gfwgfw]

Dear Ken

Yes, I do agree with your lengthy retort to my post

However you have not swayed my sentiments regarding this particular post

A little girl has lost her life in tragic circumstances

Just a few words of condolence is suffice

Knee jerk speculation unworthy in my opinion - sorry

. . . and yes I do frequently bypass posts what I consider to be pointless, sadly a tad endemic by just a few members

Kindest wishes to you, Julie and the moggies

Graham

[Holiday Planner]

We visited water parks on holiday when our children were smaller. Although you do try your level best to keep an eye on them all of the time, sometimes you lose sight of them in the crowds. Youngsters naturally want to go down the slides. I remember going down first then waiting for my son, but not spotting him because he shot out of a different slide from the one I was expecting. My children never got into difficulties in the water, but in cases like this I can often think to myself : 'There but for the grace of God go I".
One thing I do remember is that there were always an abundance of lifeguards at the sides as well as at the top of each slide; all rotating positions frequently so as to help maintain concentration.

My heart goes out to the family. What a tragic loss of a child's life.

[Manoverboard]

Mobietta reminded me over lunch when we returned from a day out to the Hotel pool in Gran Canaria, one of the boys of a similar age to this little girl was by now in his swimmers and decided to run after, then follow, another child who dived off the side of the pool into the deep end ... Mobietta ran round the other side of the pool, jumped in fully clothed to fish him out cos he didn't swim at that time.

It happens in an instant and without laying blame I still say that pools that permit children in them should be supervised at ALL times ... albeit as a back up rather than an instead of.

[Silver_Shiney]

Hang on a minute, shouldn't this little girl have been in school?.... but if the child had been in school then possibly she would still be alive today.

Em

Em, At a time of distress within a family it us rather a crass statement with regards to a child not being at school.
Our Granddaughters school breaks up for half term on Wednesday for half term. 2 weeks plus 2 inset days.
Local schools are in the 5 term system which gives shorter Sumner holidays and evened out during the year.
Whatever the reason in this case it was the parents decision.

We do not know what school holidays this poor child had, or even if she was home-schooled. The fact remains, though, that IF she went to school and IF she was on holiday during term-time THEN POSSIBLY this would not have happened. That is all that Em said. However, we don't know all the details to be able to make informed comment.

I don't consider Em's statement to be crass.

Whether the kiddie should (if her school was open) have been out of school, whether she was adequately supervised by whoever, whether.... if... who was.... all these things should, IMHO, be put aside for the time being. A family has been ripped apart and, as others have said, this is not the time to apportion blame but to hold grieving people in our thoughts and/or prayers.

[Andrea S]

SS, My post was with regard to a dreadful accident that has occurred and a comment about a child being on holiday instead of school should be off no concern to anyone.
The pain of losing their Daughter will be with them forever.