Status: 18/08/2023, 21:18 p.m.
By: Johannes Welte
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Deadly drama in Italy: near the capital, a boy (8) was swept away by the current through a drainpipe and dragged under water. Was there negligence? An investigation is now to clarify how the swimming pool accident occurred. (Symbolic photo) © Daniel Scharinger/Imago
A terrible incident occurred in a thermal bath near Rome: an eight-year-old boy was pulled into a drain pipe while draining the water and died.
Cretone di Palombara – The thermal baths Terme di Sabine di Cretone, about 30 kilometres north-east of Italy's capital Rome, are a popular excursion destination and wellness centre for the Italian capital. In four pools you can swim, splash around or just relax, a beauty and wellness center offers massages and treatments.
For a Russian family, who have lived in the area for some time, according to Italian media, a visit to the bath on Thursday (17 August) ended in a fiasco. Shortly before the pool closed, the pools were emptied, which is apparently a routine matter in the complex. According to the newspaper Corriere della Sera, bathers are usually warned by announcement.
Fatal accident: Boy is sucked in by swimming pool drain in Italy
According to Ansa, while the water was draining, an eight-year-old fell into the pool and was caught in the whirlpool of the drain. His father immediately jumped after him, desperately trying to detain and save the boy. When the father lost his strength, other bathers rushed into the water.
Simone D'Agostino, a man involved in the child's rescue attempt, told the online newspaper fanpage.it: "I jumped into the water and we tried to get the child out for an hour. The poor father had to get out because he couldn't take it anymore." The helper continues: "The water was cloudy, the little one could not be seen without a mask and the suction nozzle of the basin sucked him with great force towards the inside of the pipe. They were terrible minutes, we did everything we could and hoped until the end."
Did negligence lead to dramatic scenes in Italy? Swimming pool drain had no protective grille
The helpers also risked being dragged down the drain. However, the boy was finally pulled into the pipe through the drain, which was about 35 centimeters wide, and drowned – according to witnesses, the drain had no protective grille. It then took several hours to recover the child's body.
The authorities are now investigating the exact circumstances of the accident. They are trying to clarify why cleaning work was carried out in the swimming pool even though there were still bathers on site. In Germany, too, tragic bathing accidents occur again and again; especially in rivers. This was also the case recently in Bavaria: After days of searching, a man was found dead in the Regnitz. The current was apparently his undoing and had pulled him under water.