British toddler, 3, dies after swimming pool tragedy on family holiday | World | News

A British girl has tragically lost her life after falling into a hotel swimming pool. The three-year-old was allegedly left unattended during the family’s holiday in Greece.

The heartbreaking incident occurred in Lardos, a coastal resort village on the island of Rhodes on October 14. The child, named only as Matilda, sadly died back in the UK, 12 days after the incident, where she had been flown for intensive care treatment.

The young girl was discovered unconscious at the bottom of a pool at a hotel complex after her 44-year-old uncle, who had been tasked with supervising her, allegedly left her alone for approximately 10 minutes.

A British doctor who happened to be present at the scene dived into the water to rescue the child and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Matilda was rushed to the General Hospital of Rhodes, where she was intubated, before being transferred to Crete and later to Britain, but tragically she did not survive.

Following the incident, her uncle and a 54-year-old manager of a travel agency responsible for the hotel’s guests were arrested by police. They are now facing charges over the child’s death, along with the 57-year-old hotel owner and the hotel’s director, reports The Mirror.

An investigation conducted on-site revealed that safety measures at the hotel were severely lacking, with no lifeguard on duty, no rescue equipment at the specific pool and no designated supervisor present, according to reports.

The lawyer for the uncle of the tragic child, Antonis Zervos, has argued that his client “did not see and was not near the child”. The solicitor for the hotel manager has meanwhile claimed the pool is not large enough to legally require a lifeguard be present.

Authorities have examined CCTV footage to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident. They have stated their investigation is ongoing.

A woman sunbathing nearby spotted the child and pulled her out before raising the alarm.

In the early days of hospitalisation, doctors informed the family that the brain injury she had suffered was irreversible. Michalis Sokorelos, the director of the hospital, 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.”