A father and grandfather have both tragically drowned after jumping into a hotel swimming pool to rescue a toddler who had fallen in.
The men, 38 and 65, lost consciousness after trying to rescue the two-year-old girl in Gold Coast, Australia.
ABC NewsTwo-year-old girl’s dad and grandad drown after jumping into hotel swimming pool to save her after she fell in[/caption]
GoogleThe pool is at the top of the Mark Holiday Apartments[/caption]
The girl’s dad and grandfather dived into the rooftop pool at the top of the Mark Holiday Apartments on a Sunday evening.
They were dragged from the water by onlookers who performed CPR on them until emergency services arrived.
But unfortunately the men went into a cardiac arrest and died at the scene.
The little girl was playing by the pool when she slipped and fell into the deep end.
The girl’s mother – who couldn’t swim – jumped after the toddler, prompting the dad and granddad to come to the rescue.
The men leapt into the water fully clothed but got into trouble and drowned.
The child and mother are alive and well and have been taken to hospital in stable condition.
The family was understood to have travelled from Victoria to vacation at the apartment complex.
Mitchell Ware from Queensland Ambulance Service said: “It’s an extremely emotional scene.
“Obviously, anyone could understand that – not just to lose one family member but to lose two family members.”
The pool is located at the rooftop of an apartment block building, and other families were using it when the tragedy occurred.
Mr Ware added that the devastating events like the double fatality of a family could affect the entire community.
“These incidents can have long-lasting effects not just for the family members involved, but also the people that were at the scene as well,” he said.
He added that the pool depth would have made no difference for the victims if they were not strong swimmers.
It is also unclear if there were any floatation devices available at the pool.
The police investigation is ongoing and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
According to the emergency services, school holidays and Easter break are an extremely busy and dangerous period with a spike in drownings.