Terme di Cretone, 8-year-old boy dies sucked into the pool drain

Was sucked down the drain of the swimming pool: this is how little Stephan, 8 years old, died yesterday. He was on holiday with his family, of Russian origin, at the Terme di Cretone, near Palombara Sabina, about thirty kilometers from Rome.

At around 6.30pm, the facility’s loudspeakers were announcing the imminent closure and were urging guests to leave the area. While the pool was being emptied, the child fell into the water, ended up at the bottom and was dragged towards the drainage system, then disappeared inside the pipe. Some present tried to save him from the force of the water, risking being dragged down the drain too. Despite the immediate intervention of the rescue teams, the pressure inside the tubes made it very difficult to free the body minute from the close of the drainage system. It took almost two hours before the core of divers managed to recover Stephan’s lifeless body.

Investigations are underway to determine the exact dynamics of the accident and possible responsibilities. According to initial reports, the child would have fallen into the pool while she was being emptied and cleaned, a process that is performed many times in the spa complex. Remains from ascertain why the drainage system had been activated even though many guests were still present.

The Tivoli prosecutor’s office has already ordered the seizure of the structure to ascertain the correct functioning of the drainage system. Further tests will be needed to determine if the child is accidentally fell or jumped into the water: the investigators are collecting the testimonies being examined by the guests of the plant and the staff, who were engaged in cleaning the tanks.

Stephan’s body will undergo an autopsy in the next few hours.

A black summer

This summer several children died of drowning. In June, a 3-year-old Ivorian boy died in the swimming pool of a Centocelle sports club in Rome. A 6-year-old boy drowned in Margherita di Savoia, in the Bari area, during the summer camp, and another just two-year-old boy lost his life after falling into the swimming pool of his home in None, in the province of Turin In Parma, in a one and a half year old girl died in an inflatable paddling pool, and in Novi di Modena a two year old boy died during his little sister’s party. In the province of Vicenza, on 15 July, a 2-year-old girl slipped into her swimming pool. In an irrigation tank, on the other hand, in the Foggia countryside, two little brothers lost their lives.