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A four-year-old boy remains in a serious condition after a near-drowning at a hotel swimming pool in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, one of Gran Canaria’s best-known Brit holiday areas. He was rescued on Saturday afternoon with clear signs of drowning and is still being treated at the University Maternal and Child Hospital of the Canary Islands.

 

The emergency began when the child was first taken by private ambulance to a local medical centre. But once doctors saw how serious his condition was, the Canary Islands Emergency Service was called in and an urgent transfer was arranged. The decision was made to send him by medical helicopter after the service’s coordinating nurse reviewed the information from the receiving centre.

 

To carry out the transfer, the helicopter landed in the car park of a nearby school. A fully equipped ambulance then took the boy from the private hospital to the aircraft. He was accompanied throughout the flight by a doctor and a nurse from the helicopter’s medical team.

 

Before the helicopter arrived, the paediatric emergency team at the University Maternal and Child Hospital had already been alerted and was ready to receive him. Once the aircraft landed on the hospital helipad, he was taken straight into specialist care.

 

The operation involved several emergency services working together, including ambulance crews, air support and hospital specialists. Officials said the child had shown clear signs of severe drowning before the air transfer was organised.

 

Health and emergency authorities have again underlined the importance of constant supervision for young children around swimming pools. They say these incidents can happen very quickly and often silently, even in only a few centimetres of water.

 

The boy remains in a serious condition.

 

 

Image: Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular-Materno Infantil/Facebook