After going missing on a large inflatable assault course, an 11-year-old girl died during a water park birthday celebration.
Witnesses said the victim, Kyra, was meant to be on the Total Wipeout-style challenge with around 10 pals for an hour-long session at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
However, the pleasure quickly turned into ‘complete chaos’ when the mother of one of the children began yelling her name at 3.40pm. Witnesses criticised the water park yesterday for allegedly lacking an emergency plan and adolescent lifeguards who were ‘not prepared’ to deal with the disaster.
Kyra is not thought to have returned from the inflatable session, forcing parents and colleagues to begin looking for changing rooms at Liquid Leisure in Datchet, Berkshire. Some youngsters said she couldn’t swim and that she was last seen ‘going underwater,’ causing alarm.
Lifeguards ran about asking tourists for goggles because they didn’t appear to have any diving equipment to explore beneath the inflatables. Emergency services were only summoned at 3.55 p.m., according to a mother, and it took personnel 20 minutes to drain the lake.
Before police, firemen, and two helicopters arrived, adults dove in and began frantically searching for the child. Kyra was discovered around 5.10 p.m. and rushed to Wexham Park Hospital, but she was unable to be rescued.
Police are now looking into her death, which is being investigated as unexplained. Witnesses lambasted the’monstrosity’ at Liquid Leisure, stating the adolescent lifeguards were unprepared.
James Bull, 25, was one of the guests who attempted to locate Kyra. He told the Mail, ‘It was a complete shambles.’ ‘I saw the lady shouting for Kyra, then I bumped into a couple of young girls who said they were Kyra’s friends.
‘They showed me a picture and said she was in a black swimsuit and grey footwear. They said she can’t swim and was struggling – then she went under.’
He borrowed goggles and dove in, but said the murky water made it difficult to see. Mr Bull, of Guildford, Surrey, stated that employees “need proper training.”
‘There should also be a limit on the number of people in the pool area,’ he added. ‘How could they not see her go under? Why didn’t they have goggles or diving equipment? There were more adults and parents in the water looking for her than lifeguards, it was a complete joke.’
Another visitor, a 32-year-old mother-of-two, said: ‘There didn’t seem to be a single adult in charge. It was horrendous. One of the lifeguards said he didn’t want to get in because he didn’t want to get his trainers wet. Some were screaming to get goggles. I can’t begin to tell you how poorly dealt with it was. The mother was queuing with her friends for the main inflatable course when the woman came over and said she had lost a child. It was surreal. It just got more and more serious, and the place got more and more silent.
‘As a mum, seeing that, you just can’t even begin to imagine what she was going through. It was so horrendous. I am just honestly so angry. There didn’t seem to be an emergency plan.’
Witnesses said there were between 30 and 50 children on the assault course when Kyra went missing. The lake is up to six metres deep in parts – dangerous for non-swimmers. Gavin Springett, who worked at the park last summer on training, said: ‘No corners were ever cut on safety.’
He stated that there were lifeguards on every stretch of the inflatable course, that personnel is educated on water rescue on a regular basis, and that buoyancy jackets are required on all inflatables, including for adults.
Thames Valley Police Superintendent Michael Greenwood commended the bravery of the parents who leaped into the lake.
Liquid Leisure stated in a statement that they will assist authorities and that their ‘thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and all those affected by this desperately tragic and upsetting incident.’