Child drowns in pool full of people
TUYEIMO HAIDULA
ONGWEDIVA
A boy drowned at Bennie’s Entertainment Park in Ongwediva on Sunday afternoon.
The boy, whose age is suspected to be 10 or 11, was reportedly swimming with two other boys in the baby pool and nobody saw when he moved to the adult pool.
Life guard Hendrick Natangwe Kateta, who has been working at the establishment for close to two years, told Namibia Sun that he usually keeps an eye on children around the adult pool.
But Kateta said at the time of the drowning he was cleaning the baby pool after the wind had blown rubbish into both pools.
He said the boy who drowned was in the company of two of his friends, who had arrived at the pool accompanied by their nanny at around 16:30.
Unnoticed
Kateta said at around 17:00 the nanny was taking selfies and when he offered to take full body pictures of her, she asked him to first help her find the boy before she could continue taking photos. He said she was holding a 10-month-old baby in her arms.
He said as soon as he was done cleaning the baby pool, an older boy asked him to clean the big pool too, hinting that he was stepping on something under the water.
The pool was full of people, Kateta said.
“I came with the trash remover and when I touched on the floor to pull out what he was pointing at, the head came up. I jumped in and took out the boy. I pressed down on his chest at least two times but he was not responding,” Kateta recalls.
He said he then ran to the laundry room to get a blanket so he could cover the boy and went to reception to call the police.
The boy’s mother was informed about the incident but the police have not yet released the name of the deceased. A police investigation into the matter continues.
Kateta said just last month he saved a 35-year-old man from drowning because he was being vigilant and kept his eyes on the pool.
ONGWEDIVA
A boy drowned at Bennie’s Entertainment Park in Ongwediva on Sunday afternoon.
The boy, whose age is suspected to be 10 or 11, was reportedly swimming with two other boys in the baby pool and nobody saw when he moved to the adult pool.
Life guard Hendrick Natangwe Kateta, who has been working at the establishment for close to two years, told Namibia Sun that he usually keeps an eye on children around the adult pool.
But Kateta said at the time of the drowning he was cleaning the baby pool after the wind had blown rubbish into both pools.
He said the boy who drowned was in the company of two of his friends, who had arrived at the pool accompanied by their nanny at around 16:30.
Unnoticed
Kateta said at around 17:00 the nanny was taking selfies and when he offered to take full body pictures of her, she asked him to first help her find the boy before she could continue taking photos. He said she was holding a 10-month-old baby in her arms.
He said as soon as he was done cleaning the baby pool, an older boy asked him to clean the big pool too, hinting that he was stepping on something under the water.
The pool was full of people, Kateta said.
“I came with the trash remover and when I touched on the floor to pull out what he was pointing at, the head came up. I jumped in and took out the boy. I pressed down on his chest at least two times but he was not responding,” Kateta recalls.
He said he then ran to the laundry room to get a blanket so he could cover the boy and went to reception to call the police.
The boy’s mother was informed about the incident but the police have not yet released the name of the deceased. A police investigation into the matter continues.
Kateta said just last month he saved a 35-year-old man from drowning because he was being vigilant and kept his eyes on the pool.
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