Girl, 4, dies after 'incident' at Waterworld swimming pool

A four-year-old girl has tragically died after an incident at a popular waterpark in Staffordshire on Monday. Emergency services rushed to the scene at around 4.20pm in Hanley after reports of a child being in a critical condition. West Midlands Ambulance Service and Waterworld staff both attended to the girl at the scene before she was taken to hospital. Police, two ambulances and an air ambulance responded to the incident.

Waterworld has now closed its doors and will remain shut on 5 August "out of respect for the family". The four-year-old's next of kin have been informed and are receiving support from officers. Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Maskew from Staffordshire Police said: "Our thoughts are with the family at this terribly sad time.

"We are now making enquiries and looking to establish the circumstances of the incident.

"We would ask that members of the public avoid speculating in these early stages of the investigation and allow the family to grieve."

A Waterworld spokesperson said: "It is with great sadness that we learned of this little girl's passing this evening.

"All our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during these extremely difficult times.

"Waterworld is in shock and has decided to remain closed tomorrow out of respect for the family. Waterworld is working closely with the authorities at this sad time."

In a post on Facebook, the resort said the incident happened "in the lagoon area of the aqua park".

They added that the child was "found unconscious and treated on poolside by our lifeguard & management teams on site.

"They immediately provided CPR and called the emergency services, who arrived around 4.20pm.

"All other visitors were asked to quietly leave the pool out of respect for the rescue operation underway, and we would like to thank them for their support and collaboration."

Staffordshire Police are urging witnesses or anyone with knowledge of the incident to contact them by calling 101 quoting incident number 460 of August 4.

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