Five-year-old drowns in family pool in Benavente

A five-year-old girl has died after drowning in the swimming pool at her family home in Benavente, central Portugal, in a tragedy that comes amid a sharp increase in child/ teenager drowning incidents nationwide.

The accident happened on Friday evening in the village of Foros de Almada, in the municipality of Benavente, Santarém district.

According to the Lezíria do Tejo Sub-Regional Civil Protection Command, the emergency alert was received at 8:51pm. The child was reportedly found by her father in the family’s swimming pool after suffering cardiorespiratory arrest.

Despite rescue efforts, the little girl could not be saved.

Firefighters from the Benavente Volunteer Fire Brigade, a Santarém emergency medical and resuscitation vehicle (VMER), officers from Portugal’s National Republican Guard (GNR), and a team of psychologists were dispatched to the scene to assist the family.

The fatality comes just a day after Portugal’s National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) warned of a significant rise in drownings involving children and teenagers.

According to figures released by the emergency medical service, 147 drowning and diving-related incidents involving people aged up to 18 were recorded in the past year, a 22.5% increase compared with the 120 cases registered in the previous year.

Teenagers aged 15 to 18 accounted for the highest number of incidents, with 57 cases. However, INEM highlighted a particularly concerning increase among children aged five and under, with 29 incidents, and those aged between 10 and 15, with 41 cases.

Boys represented around 67% of all recorded incidents.

INEM stresses that drownings often occur quickly and silently, warning that children should always remain under the active supervision of an adult, even in shallow water.

The institute also urges families to secure private swimming pools with safety barriers and controlled access, to choose supervised beaches when going to the sea, obey warning flags, avoid swimming alone, and never dive headfirst into unfamiliar or shallow water because of the risk of severe spinal injuries in the case of contact with the sea bottom/ a hard object.

Additional safety advice includes entering the water gradually after prolonged sun exposure and avoiding unnecessary risks such as swimming against strong currents or close to waves and cliffs.

This latest death adds to growing concern among emergency services over water safety as Portugal enters the peak summer holiday season.

Source: noticiasaominuto

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.