Tragedy strikes: four-year-old British boy pulled into hotel pool filter in Mallorca

A four-year-old child had to be saved after his arm got caught in the filter of a hotel swimming pool in Mallorca.

The British child was at Hotel Zafiro in Can Picafort on Sunday (June 1) when his hand became stuck in the pool’s water filter.

The suction generated a vacuum that ensnared the boy’s arm, necessitating that emergency personnel excavate the pipe to free him.

According to local news source Diario de Mallorca, rescuers had to be very cautious to avoid injuring the child while excavating the pipe his arm was caught in.

As the emergency team worked to liberate him, they provided the boy with a hard hat and earmuffs, and luckily, he did not appear to suffer any serious injuries from the incident.

As reported by the Mail, the pool filter was not properly covered, leading to the four-year-old being sucked in and stuck, necessitating the pool to be drained of water after they recognized they couldn’t begin his rescue without clearing the pool.

Once they started excavating, they were able to reach the pipe and rescue the boy in approximately 30 minutes, after which he was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and it was confirmed that he had not sustained serious injuries.

They also noted that a court is now investigating whether the Mallorca hotel could face legal action for negligence, while a hotel representative mentioned that the boy’s family “expressed their gratitude to us for the quick response of the entire team.”

Other hotels and vacationers have also faced tragedies related to pool filters in the past.

Last year, a young girl vacationing at a hotel in Texas with her family lost her life after being sucked into one of the pipes.

The eight-year-old girl had been swimming in the pool, and it took 13 hours to reach her, at which point it was determined that she had died from “drowning and mechanical asphyxia.”

The pool’s filter seemed to be a contributing factor, as one pipe was intended to be removing water while another was supposed to be returning it, but they both appeared to be draining the pool.

Fortunately, in this recent incident, the boy was rescued and was only a little the worse for wear after being checked at the hospital.

Hopefully, they allow him to keep the hard hat and earmuffs, as those are the kinds of items a four-year-old would likely be thrilled to have as a keepsake.