Costa del Sol swimming pool deaths: hotel says pool not to blame

The operator’s statement comes as the wife and mother of the victims has refuted claims they could not swim

POOL TRAGEDY: Gabriel Diya and his daughter Comfort (Photo: Facebook)

THE OPERATOR responsible for the Costa del Sol hotel where a British pastor and two of his children drowned has denied claims that there must have been an issue with the swimming pool.

Gabriel Diya, 52, drowned along with his nine-year-old daughter Comfort and 16-year-old son Praise-Emmanuel on Christmas Eve in Spain.

The family had been staying at the Club La Costa World holiday resort in Fuengirola.

In an unofficial English translation of the police statement published by CLC, it is stated that Mr Diya enter the pool to rescue his children but he was not able to because “he did not know how to swim”. Olubunmi Diya, Gabriel’s wife and the mother of the two children, has denied these claims.

She said she believed “something was wrong with the pool that must have made swimming difficult for them at that point in time”.

In a statement released to the media, Mrs Diya said the family were “utterly heartbroken” by the incident.

She said: “The children went into the pool using the steps but found themselves dragged into the middle, which was deeper and called for help when they could not get out.

“My daughter did not fall into the water.

“My husband went in via the steps trying to help the two struggling while i ran to the nearby apartments shouting for help to assist my husband.”

Her comments have been disputed by the CLC World Resorts and Hotels, the operator of the hotel where the tragedy took place.

It said Mrs Diya’s claims were “directly at odds with the findings of the police report”.

“Naturally we have heard the comments made on behalf of Mrs Diya in a widely publicised statement to the media.

“The claims made in that statement are directly at odds with the findings of the police report. This makes it clear that their exhaustive investigations have confirmed the pool was working normally and there was no malfunction of any kind,” CLC World Resorts and Hotels said in a statement released on its website.

The hotel group reported that no irregularities were found following inspections of the pool by the Guardia Civil but a swimming cap belonging to the nine-year-old victim was recovered.

The pool where Mr Diya, Comfort and Praise-Emmanuel died remains closed out of respect for the victims, the operator said.

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1 Comment

  1. | John Lyons

    Very very sad incident my only logical conclusion is that those who drowned were not very seasoned swimmers and probably had very little swimming ability. May their souls rest in perfect peace.

    I have never heard of a pool malfunctioning but why was there no lifeguard on duty.

    Reply

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