Drowning child is rescued in drama

Drowning child is rescued in drama

19 November 2014

A STRANGFORD man has spoken of his shock after saving a little girl from drowning while on holiday.

Bill Smyth went to the rescue of the three year-old Russian child after seeing her plunge to the bottom of a deep swimming pool in Gran Canaria at the weekend.

He was sunbathing at the poolside on the second last day of his holiday when he noticed the child playing precariously close to the pools’ edge.

He said she had taken her armbands off and was floating them in the water when one of them began to float further into the pool.

“I was watching and wondering where her parents were,” said Mr. Smyth.

“I knew how deep the water was although it was not marked as a deep section.

“The next thing she just rolled into the pool. It happened in seconds.”

Mr. Smyth, who was about 20 feet away, said he ran to the pool and dived to the bottom where the little girl had fallen.

“It all happened in seconds and she went straight to the bottom,” he said.

“I grabbed her leg and pulled her up and pushed her onto the side.

“I took in a bit of water myself because although I can swim I am no life saver.”

Mr. Smyth, a photographer, said the little girl was hysterical after the accident and her mother rushed to the scene when she realised what had happened.

“It was shocking for everyone,” he said.

“It was only afterwards that I realised how quickly a tragedy could unfold. I have no idea how long it would take for a child’s lungs to fill with water and she was sick afterwards.”

Mr. Smyth said the hotel’s lifeguards had missed the accident because of an obscured view.

“The lifeguards were sitting level with the sun loungers so they did not have a birds’ eye view of the pool,” he said.

“Afterwards, even though I do not normally drink, I had a brandy to settle my nerves.

“It was a frightening incident.

“Other people at the pool said they had no idea what I was doing until they saw the little girl coming to the surface. Everyone else had missed it.”