Swimming Pool Entrapment Warning

Swimming Pool Entrapment Warning

ABOVE: If your swimming pool only has one single main drain you need to seek urgent professional advice

MSI has campaigned for years to get the holiday tourism sector to accept the risks posed by swimming pool drain entrapment. A company spokesperson said: “It’s a tragedy that three members of the Diya family died in the same pool incident, and it’s also a travesty that the family has not been given access to the pool for an independent inspection – why? “While entrapment cannot, at this time, be officially confirmed, all the signs point to drain entrapment and the only way to discover the cause of the deaths is an independent inspection by a recognised UK expert.”

Pool entrapment incidents have been happening for many years in outdated and overseas holiday pools. In 2017, there was an entrapment incident at the Valenciano Swimming Club in Carprese, Valencia – a 14-year-old boy was trapped underwater by suction from a drain. The boy became unconscious and sustained a perineal tear as a result of the strong suction of the pump.

It took a four-hour operation to save his life. In another incident, a six-year old girl on holiday with her family in France drowned after her leg became trapped in the filter drain at the bottom of the hotel’s pool.

ABOVE: The tragic incident involving the Diya family has triggered increased sales of the Vac-Alert safety system.

The incident happened when the girl jumped into the pool, landed on the drain of the pool’s filter pump system, whose safety grille had broken. A witness said the girl was “sucked into the drain.”

Pool entrapment danger has been known for decades and it is believed that there are more than one million pools across Europe which are outdated, having a single drain which puts swimmers around the world at risk. However, the risk to swimmers can be significantly reduced by simply installing a Vac-Alert safety system which responds in milliseconds.

MSI again: “Some parts of the hotel and commercial leisure industry are still not recognising the need for a Vac-Alert, especially in older pools. “For example, MSI tried to advertise the Vac-Alert in a Maltese newspaper but the advert was rejected because it was seen as bad for tourism.

The three deaths in the hotel pool in Fuengirola on Christmas Eve has obviously intensified the focus on pool entrapment danger and sales of the Vac-Alert have significantly increased – at last the message is getting through. “The holiday industry throughout Europe should not wait for another death to make their pools safer,” say MSI. “If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to act.”

MSI
Tel. 01825 790524
www.mineralsi.com

Reassurance On Holiday Hot Tubs

Reassurance On Holiday Hot Tubs

UntitledFollowing an entrapment incident involving a five-year-old British boy while on holiday in South Africa, UK hot tub suppliers are strongly emphasising that such cases are extremely rare and the vast majority of UK hot tubs pose no risk.
In April, Sam Leathes was holidaying with his family when he became trapped underwater in the hot tub. Sam had swum over the hot tub’s drain and his tummy covered the grille, when the suction pressure from the circulation system entrapped his stomach on the drain.
Quick-thinking family members frantically found the hot tub’s control buttons and managed to release the vacuum. Sam was pulled unconscious and blue out of the water, but came round and has since made a full recovery.

POTENTIAL RISKS

While it is important for owners of holiday hot tubs and swimming pools to be constantly vigilant of all potential risks surrounding spas and hot tubs, manufacturers say entrapment cases are rare and the majority of hot tubs pose no risk.
Commenting on the incident, Lloyd Burden of leading hot tub manufacturer Hydropool said: “We sympathise with the family involved in this incident but can confidently say that, because of the methods of modern portable spa construction, it would be unlikely for a similar incident to happen in the UK,” he said.
“But for older or non-portable spa installations such as concrete spas, we would strongly recommend an
independent safety check.”
Burden adds: “If any holiday park operators would like reassurance, then I would suggest they go back to their suppliers for confirmation on a brand by brand basis.”
Many companies within the UK’s pool and spa industries have been campaigning to raise awareness of the dangers of entrapment for years, much of which fall on deaf ears.
These include Mineral Supplies International (MSI), which has supplied the Vac-Alert anti-entrapment device to UK and European markets since 1996.
Installed on both pools and hot tubs, the Vac-Alert responds within a millisecond to any increase in filter pump suction; spring-loaded pistons open the pipe to atmosphere, freeing a person trapped by life-threatening suction.
“Entrapment has severe consequences and in many recorded cases globally can be fatal, particularly in the case of younger children,” said MSI’s Bob Kent.
“This is why we have been working with major holiday operators and cruise liners who want to demonstrate when it comes to their customers, they will put duty of care first every time.”