Girl, 7, fights for life after friend dies in private pool

A seven-year-old South Korean girl was fighting for her life last night after a friend, another girl of the same age, died while the pair were swimming in the clubhouse pool of the Harbourside residential estate in West Kowloon on Saturday night.

The survivor was in a sritical condition at Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being rescued and revived.

The dead girl, a Hongkonger named Hung, had been confirmed dead at 9.28pm on Saturday.

The two were in the 1.5-meter-deep pool accompanied by family members, though they were not swimming when the youngsters got into difficulties at 8.29pm.

But two lifeguards told police they did not notice anything amiss or any shout for help.

Both sets of parents - resident at Habourside - said their daughters were able to swim, and neither were wearing life jackets or other aids when pulled out unconscious by emergency personnel called in by staff.

Two large inflatable floats were left at the pool, along with clothes, with the police sealing off the pool for investigations. It remained closed yesterday.

Nick Wu Kai-wing, vice-president of Hong Kong and Kowloon Life Guards' Union, said large floating toys could cause danger to children in swimming pools as kids who ride on the toys may be trapped underwater in a rollover.

Large floating objects could also obstruct a lifeguard's views, Wu said, and that's why they are banned in public pools.

Most private pools are licensed and supervised by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, he said, though lifeguard services and other emergency equipment may not be as good as pools managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

Wu noted that a 1.5-meter-deep pool is slightly more than the height of an average seven-year-old. He also said parents are responsible for the safety of their children.

People went online to say lifeguards may not have been sufficiently alert, while others said parents should keep a sharp watch even if their kids can swim.

A coroner this month criticized lifeguards at a Kwun Tong public pool for negligence in the death of a 72-year-old woman in 2017.

Although four lifeguards were on duty none of them of them noticed the woman being in trouble. Another swimmer found her 15 minutes after she fell unconscious.