Emirati warns parents after his toddler drowns in family’s pool

Father of 20-month-old girl says people 'must never take their eyes off their children'

Families were urged to be extra vigilant in private pools where there is no lifeguard or first aid at hand. Photo: Unsplash

An Emirati toddler drowned in a swimming pool at her family’s home in Ras Al Khaimah on Monday.

The girl, who was 20 months old, was taken to Saqr Hospital by her family following the incident but was pronounced dead on arrival.

She was laid to rest on Tuesday morning at Al Uraibi cemetery after prayers.

The child’s father, Ahmad Al Shamsi, told The National that the girl had sneaked out to the family’s plastic swimming pool.

“My children had used the outdoor pool two days before the accident happened,” Mr Al Shamsi said.

Parents should always be careful when using inflatable and plastic swimming pools at home, he said.

“A toddler of about two years of age can easily drown in one of those pools," Mr Al Shamsi said.

“The pool must be emptied of water after it has been used. I should have drained the water after my children used it but I didn’t.

“Parents must never take their eyes off their children.”

Last January, an Emirati boy, 2, drowned in the swimming pool of a hotel in Ras Al Khaimah.

In December 2021, a four-year-old Emirati boy and his family’s helper died after getting into trouble in a hotel swimming pool.

Safety and rescue experts said parental supervision was critical and remained the number one factor in drowning prevention ― even in the presence of a lifeguard.

“Parents should be watching their children all the time until they finish swimming and are out of the pool,” said Daniel Heimann, a Dubai Police safety and rescue expert.

“For the 30 seconds a lifeguard is concentrating on something else in the pool, there is a blind spot and somebody can always slip through it.”