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6-year-old boy drowns in Nara swimming pool

13 Comments

A 6-year-old boy drowned in a public swimming pool in Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture, police said Sunday.

The incident occurred at around noon on Saturday. According to police, the victim was a boy who had come with his family from Higashi-Osaka City, Fuji TV reported. The boy was found on the bottom of the pool and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

According to a company that manages the city's swimming facilities, one lifeguard and four to five other staff were on duty at the time.

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13 Comments
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Terrible! RIP poor little boy down there in Nara

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I know this pool and it is one of the most popular in Nara, It was Saturday and without a doubt infested with people. The pool's main focus are the slides so probably less staff on pool duty and more so on slide duty. We don't know the exact details about parental supervision but 6 is still a tad young for a kid to be in the middle of a pool without the watchful eye of a parent.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Terrifying experience here today since my first comment above. At the pool and about 12 feet from me was a little boy on his own. He seemed to be able to touch the bottom but his head was tilted right back in the water and he was at chin level. He went down slightly and came up spluttering a bit. I saw the lifeguard jump off her chair and come to the edge of the water. Then he went down again and came up again slightly lower than before, barely above the surface. She ran into the water but I was closer so I waded over and grabbed him and pulled him out. Turned out he had a bucket in his hands and that had made him unable to help himself when he got into trouble because he wouldnt let go of the bucket! He was fine, I handed him to the lifeguard who handed him back to his mum (who was freaking miles away and paying no attention until she saw lifeguards shouting and running), but it was terrifying - I have never seen a child drown in front of me before and it was so silent, that was the scary thing - no call for help, nothing. If I or the lifeguard hadnt been watching he would have gone down and today I saw how easily it could happen.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

rip

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Just wondering how many Japanese kids are taught to swim as a matter of course. There seem to have been several of these sad occurrences recently.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Sad for all....

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I've seen enough people standing is supposed 'swimming' pools to know this can happen. Japanese society really needs to learn how to share space without overcrowding, pool, garden, temple, shrine or anything else. The poor kid had no chance.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

"one lifeguard and four to five other staff were on duty at the time. "

Not enough, by far! One lifeguard for a most likely very crowded pool is ridiculous.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Haven't the temperatures been extremely high in Japan recently? My Kansai friends have been complaining about the really high temps. This would support the reason for overcrowding at the city pool in Kashihara, Nara. RIP, young fellow. How sad for his family and friends.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I suspect this pool was so choc full of people the lifeguards had little chance of spotting anything.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Why was the boy not being watched by his parents? Until my son could swim well I never took my eyes off him in the pool....

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Did no-one notice or just not pretend to notice?

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

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