For the remainder of the week, the water park where an 11-year-old schoolgirl drowned will be shuttered while authorities look into the incident.
This morning, two security officers waited behind the metal entry gates of the Liquid Leisure theme park near Datchet, Berkshire, with placards that said “closed.”
At the entrance to the park where Kyra Hill passed away after going missing while participating in an inflatable assault course modelled after Total Wipeout at a friend’s birthday celebration on Saturday afternoon, more than 20 floral tributes have been placed with cards that read “To a beautiful little girl” and “RIP Little Angel.”
As around 40 persons dove into the lake, parents and workers began calling out her name throughout Liquid Leisure, and lifeguards were obliged to ask visitors for goggles so they could check under the inflatables. Two hours after her companions reported her missing, her corpse was discovered.
A few hours before the catastrophe, Kyra was seen in social media photos smiling with the birthday girl and her pals while wearing a black wetsuit.
The aqua assault course will remain closed until next week, contrary to what staff had previously said would happen.
“We have chosen to stay closed for the balance of the week out of respect for all the families affected,” Liquid Leisure said.
‘Kyra was extremely sweet,’ remarked a 12-year-old buddy.
She excelled in every one of our subjects and was quite intelligent. She cared about people and enjoyed making them happy.
For Coombe Wood School in Croydon, the classmate played football with enthusiastic player Kyra, a Manchester United supporter.
She was such a beautiful child, the mother of one of her other classmates sobbed as she said, “She was such a sweet girl.”
A close friend or family member said on social media that “Your smile and hugs gave me life and you will never be forgotten.”
According to what is known, the birthday girl’s mother asked all the parents whether their kids could swim before inviting them.
According to Liquid Leisure, it supplies life jackets for inflatables and asks everyone to certify that they are strong swimmers.
It happened at the same time that Melissa Henson, a mother of two, said that “nearly a year to the day” before, her own daughter had fallen between inflatables at the park, been trapped in by her life jacket, and had her head caught in the water.
I’m sure she would have drowned if my husband and I weren’t watching, the woman told MailOnline.
We reported it to management, who expressed regret and offered us a coupon to return. The thought crossed my mind as I watched the news: “This might have been my daughter.”
Police have opened an inquiry into Kyra’s death, which is being handled as unexplained.
We often visit the lakeside soft play area, which is a part of the Liquid Leisure complex, but yesterday was the first time we were issued wristbands since they said the park was “overbooked and anticipating huge crowds,” according to Sandy Kaur, who went to the water park on Sunday.
It happens after Windsor and Maidenhead Council said that it had sent an enforcement notice on the company in December 2020 for expanding the premises without obtaining planning approval.
The park is presently awaiting a four-day public investigation into the controversy, which the council claims has been granted approval for water-skiing and windsurfing rather than as a “aqua theme park.”
The investigation, which may eventually compel the inflatable Total Wipeout course to close, was scheduled to happen in March.
However, it was abruptly postponed as a result of the inspector being sick with Covid.
A 41-year-old South Buckinghamshire lady who wished to remain unnamed was at the ‘crowded’ water park on Saturday with her teenage daughter and had previously been numerous times.
She described the incident as “an awful tragedy” for the girl’s family and friends, adding that she and other parkgoers experienced “shock” and “helplessness” in the wake of the incident.
She said that several individuals were not using life jackets and that the lifeguards were negligent.
Two anxious mothers were running by yelling the kid’s name when we realised a youngster was missing, the lady said.
With the LL personnel, there didn’t appear to be any actionable strategy. A couple lifeguards dove into the water and began what seemed to be a rather haphazard search.
Another employee began enquiring about the lifeguard certification of other employees.
The management of the issue lacked coordination and it looked like nobody was in control.
“There was no contact, and there was no evacuation plan for the people and children stranded on the riverfront.”
The rescue services responded swiftly and in great numbers; they were unable to do more since there was only one little access and escape at LL.
We merely watched while the search and rescue divers looked in the water since we weren’t advised what to do and didn’t want to obstruct their attempts to enter the park.
“Afterward, my daughter said she didn’t feel comfortable on the inflatable since there were deflated parts and spaces between barriers where anybody could have easily fallen down and ended up below the inflatable.”
Witnesses described how the water park was in “chaos” on Saturday after the 11-year-old child went missing, as they did yesterday.
A 41-year-old South Buckinghamshire lady who wished to remain unnamed was at the ‘crowded’ water park on Saturday with her teenage daughter and had previously been numerous times.
The lady described the incident as “an awful tragedy” for the girl’s family and friends, adding that she and other parkgoers experienced “shock” and “helplessness” in response to the incident.
“My teenage daughter and her friend started their session in the pool at 3 o’clock,” she claimed. At about 3.20 p.m., I asked another mother who was already sitting on a bench if I might join her after going off to grab a drink and something to eat.
Because my daughter was wearing a wetsuit and not many others were, I began to attempt to identify her, but because to the overwhelming crowd, it was hard, so I simply started to observe others.
“I immediately observed that not everyone was wearing a life jacket, and I spotted the nearest young female lifeguard not paying attention and glancing across the open sea instead of the individuals she was supposed to be looking at,” says the author.
The mother said that the number of lifeguards to swimmers made her feel “uneasy,” but she added: “I reasoned with myself that my daughter and friend had their life jackets on and the session will soon be done.”
Soon after, according to her, a lifeguard shouted at them to leave the inflatable course.
Two panicked ladies raced by yelling the kid’s name, and that’s when we realised a youngster was missing, she added.
The LL staff doesn’t seem to have a strategy in place. A couple lifeguards dove into the water and began what seemed to be a rather haphazard search.
Another employee began questioning other employees about their training as lifeguards.
The management of the issue lacked coordination and it looked like nobody was in control.
There was no communication, and there was no evacuation plan, so we had no idea what to do for the adults and kids left by the river.
The rescue services responded swiftly and in great numbers; they were unable to do more since there was only one little access and escape at LL.
But since we were left in the dark and didn’t want to obstruct their entry into the park, we did nothing but watch as the search and rescue divers dug through the water.
The inflatable had deflated regions and holes between barriers that anybody could have easily slid down, leaving them below the inflatable, my daughter said afterward.
The mother said that her daughter had gone to a safety briefing beforehand and that she had learned not to force others inside, to refrain from using foul language, and that a whistle would be sounded 10 minutes before the session concluded and another whistle would be blown after it was over.
Another tourist tweeted their worries as well. Neil Garrett, a TV producer, said he visited his family “a few weeks ago” and had “problems” with the number of people permitted on the course at once.
I took my kids to Liquid Leisure in Windsor a few weeks ago, the author said. It’s fair to mention that the location has several problems, the biggest one being the number of visitors they let use the floating obstacle course during each session. 200–250 seemed like the number. The lifeguards have a lot to watch out for.
“Second,” a group of young men engaged in some very antisocial behaviour. At one point during our session, everyone was told to leave when a group shoved a lifeguard.
How can the lifeguards protect the younger visitors if they are focused on yobs like this?
“The crowded conditions make it very simple for parents to become estranged from their children.”
This is made worse by the fact that there aren’t many places to get back on the course if you fall off. Had to swim a long way to find one, which required me to spend periods of time apart from my 12-year-old.
Overall, this unfortunate girl’s death at Liquid Leisure was a tragedy just waiting to happen, he said. Appalling.’
Despite having been to the water park “many times” previously, a frequent visitor who watched the sad events on Saturday told MailOnline that they had noted it was “busier” than normal.
“My teenage daughter and her friend started their session in the pool at 3 o’clock,” she claimed.
Because my daughter was wearing a wetsuit and not many others were, I began to attempt to identify her, but because to the overwhelming crowd, it was hard, so I simply started to observe others.
I observed that not everyone was wearing a life jacket right away, and the nearest lifeguard, a young female, was peering across the open ocean rather than the people she was supposed to be watching.
“At this point, I started to feel worried since it didn’t seem secure and there were too many young lifeguards compared to the whole population.
I told myself that because my daughter and her friend were wearing life jackets, the session will soon be done. Nevertheless, I thought it was a mishap waiting to happen.