A six-year-old girl drowned after falling into a Pretoria swimming pool late this afternoon.
The exact events in the lead up to the girl’s death will be the subject of Police investigation. It is thought that the child had been playing near the pool when disaster struck.
Mom noticed that the child was missing and went looking; when she got to the unprotected pool she was horrified to see her daughter at the bottom of the pool. A male companion dived in and pulled the child out of the water. Bystanders notified ADT security and a patrol officer was dispatched.
The security company then called for the assistance of the Netcare 911 advanced life support paramedics, the officer immediately started CPR when he arrived at the house, and when paramedics arrived they took over the medical management of the little girl.
They placed the child on a ventilator and after establishing intravenous therapy and administering advanced resuscitation drugs, they loaded the child into an ambulance and continued resuscitation while driving to the Netcare Unitas hospital where a specialised trauma team was awaiting their arrival .
Sadly after an enormous effort from paramedics, doctors and nurses, the child was declared dead.
Chris Botha
Netcare 911