A family vacation took a turn for the worse when a 4-year-old boy’s hand got stuck in a hotel swimming pool. While in a pool at a hotel in Majorca, one of Spain’s Balearic Islands, the child reportedly stuck his hand in an uncovered suction hole. The hole functioned like a vacuum, sucking his arm in. After the child got stuck in the skimmer outlet, staff at Hotel Zafiro in Majorca had to call for help.
Understandably, guests at the hotel were horrified as they watched everything unfold, EuroWeekly reported. Luckily, emergency services were able to rescue the child — but it wasn’t easy. According to the Mirror, paramedics struggled to get the boy out at first. In the end, firefighters decided to drain the pool and use pneumatic tools to get to the pipe. The process reportedly took about 30 minutes.
At this time, it’s unclear whether the hotel will be accused of negligence and deemed responsible for the terrifying incident. Per EuroWeekly, hotel pool lifeguards said they knew about the issues with the pool’s suction system prior to the incident. According to the news outlet, they previously tried to address the issue by inserting a screw, but apparently that didn’t work.
A Hotel Zafiro spokesperson told the Daily Mail this was “a random incident.” The hotel is also going to “take all necessary corrective measures and further strengthen our security controls.” Additionally, the spokesperson said the hotel is in contact with the family and is “offering them all the help they need regarding the logistics of transfers and hotels.”
“The family has expressed their gratitude to us for the quick response of the entire team,” the spokesperson claimed.
After being rescued from the pool, the boy was evaluated at a local hospital. Fortunately, the scary incident didn’t leave the child with any significant injuries.
