A 4-YEAR-OLD boy died after drowning in a swimming pool with his mother and three lifeguards nearby in a Pingshan estate Saturday, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Sunday.

According to the boy’s father, surnamed Liu, his wife brought their son, identified as Tiantian, to the swimming pool Saturday night. Tiantian was swimming in the children’s pool while his mom was sitting by the pool, but after a while Tiantian was found drowning in the adults’ pool.

Tiantian was in coma when he was pulled out of water by another swimmer. Liu said a homeowner at the estate administered artificial respiration for Tiantian, but the boy was later pronounced dead by the called-in emergency medical workers.

Liu said his wife blamed herself as she had failed to keep an eye on Tiantian because she was shortsighted and the light at the swimming pool was poor at night.

Liu said the operator of the swimming pool should be held responsible as well because the lifeguards didn’t stop Tiantian from entering the adults’ pool.

According to the report, the adults’ pool is as deep as 1.65 meters and is separated from the children’s pool by a short wall. Copies of the swimming pool operator’s licenses and the lifeguards’ certifications were posted at the entrance of the pool, but certification of one of the lifeguards had expired April 24.

The estate’s property management company said the swimming pool was operated by a Shenzhen sports company. The company’s spokesperson, surnamed Yao, said three lifeguards are on duty at the swimming pool every day. Two of them stand guard at designated locations while one patrols.

Yao said that all of the lifeguards had valid certifications, but one lifeguard’s work license had expired in April and he hadn’t renewed the license yet. Regarding Liu’s question about why the lifeguards didn’t stop Tiantian from entering the adults’ pool, Yao said the company would offer Liu an answer after carrying out an internal investigation.

Yao said the company had reported the case to the insurance company to arrange compensation and it would keep in constant contact with Tiantian’s family to deal with the aftermath.

According to the Pingshan police, they received the report at around 9 p.m. Saturday and an on-site investigation showed that the boy had died from drowning. The investigation of the case continues.

(Zhang Yang, Dong Haowu)