Brit girl, 9, drowns in hotel pool with brother and dad who jumped in to help
Two children and their dad died after drowning in a hotel pool on holiday after two of them jumped in to help the other, an inquest has heard.
Comfort Diya, nine, had begun to struggle in the water in the pool in Spain when dad Gabriel, 52, and brother Praise-Emmanuel, 16, jumped in to help. All three died in the Christmas Eve tragedy at the Club La Costa World resort near Malaga in 2019.
The horrifying turn of events, which were also witnessed by 49-year-old mum Olubumni and sister Favour, then 14, unfolded in just minutes, Croydon coroners court heard. Witnesses at the scene said they struggled to get the family out after they ended up at the bottom of the pool.
Favour Diya had thrown Comfort a lifebuoy after seeing her sister struggle in the water, before Gabriel, a church minister, leaped to his daughter's aid. Schoolboy Praise-Emmanuel also jumped in to help, the inquest in South London heard.
Coroner John Taylor said: “There are slightly conflicting versions about what happened at the critical moment on 24 December 2019. Some say that Comfort was in the pool and got into difficulty; some say she had difficulty getting out of the pool.
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“There is no dispute that a lifebuoy was thrown to her, and no dispute that her brother and father jumped in to help her. They then succumbed to the water, and all three met their death by drowning.”
Gabriel Diya and daughter Favour (second left) with brother Praise-Emmanuel and mum Olubunmi (Collect Unknown)Mr Taylor added however that the reasons behind the tragedy remain ‘unclear’ - due to both ‘uncertainties’ around the family’s swimming abilities and ‘questions’ around the operation of the pool. He said: “Mrs Diya was not able to categorically say that any of the three deceased could swim.
“She said she assumed her husband could swim because he had told stories of swimming in lakes in Nigeria and said the children were taking swimming lessons at the resort. But there was no proof of them being able to swim independently.”
Investigations were also carried out into the resort's pool over fears there was a fault with it, the inquest heard. Mr Taylor then read aloud an email exchange from 15 January 2020 between Mrs Diya and an investigative reporter from ITN, with suspicions of a police cover-up.
Mr Taylor continued: “The investigative reporter raised concerns about the pool’s output system, water level, and skimmers. He said: ‘I believe this would have created a tremendous suction which the nine-year-old became entrapped in.
“Her 16-year-old brother and father then also became entrapped when they bravely tried to save her.’” But Mr Taylor told the court: “He has drawn this conclusion without seeing firsthand evidence.”
Croydon Coroner’s Court also heard that Spanish authorities had sent documents in 2019 which stated that the operation of the pool’s motor was being investigated and tests were being carried out on the water, but there had since been no further information on its findings.
“There is therefore very little information about what happened,” Mr Taylor said. At the time of the tragedy, management at the Club La Costa World resort denied any negligence and insisted there was ‘no problem’ with the pool.
Offering his conclusion, Mr Taylor ruled that all three family members had died from ‘asphyxia due to drowning’. He ruled out any possibility of heart problems, ruling that all three died accidental deaths.
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