The family of a six-year-old Dundee boy have been staging a bedside vigil as he fights for his life after being pulled unconscious from a leisure pool in Arbroath.
The boy, believed to be from Kirkton, was swimming with his family at the Red Lion Holiday Park on Saturday when he was spotted by his mother lying at the bottom of the pool.
According to onlookers, he was pulled from the pool relatively quickly but wasn’t breathing and a swimmer gave him CPR before paramedics arrived shortly afterwards.
They worked on the boy for some 40 minutes before he was rushed by ambulance with a police escort to Ninewells Hospital.
It is understood he was breathing and his heart was still working when he arrived at hospital. Late on Sunday night his condition was described as “critical”.
The boy’s grandfather Thomas Hay said the youngster was still fighting for his life. He said family members were staying at his bedside at Ninewells around the clock.
“We’ve just come back from the hospital and we’re going back up later on. His mum and dad are just holding on everybody’s very upset.
“We haven’t managed to get much information about what happened. The CID have been up to the leisure pool speaking to the staff.
“As far as we can find out, he was on his way to the kids’ pool and just slipped and fell in. The chap who helped resuscitate him at the pool was just another swimmer. He did a very good job so did the ambulance service.
“He’s still fighting and we’re hoping for the best.”
As well as speaking to the staff at the pool, police also interviewed other swimmers and have also asked for CCTV footage.
Sheila Allardyce from Dundee was in the baby pool with her granddaughter Daisy.
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“I heard a woman shouting ‘Help, help’ and carrying her son in her arms. I heard another girl say ‘He’s not breathing.’ He was put on the floor next to the baby pool and an older swimmer started giving him CPR.
“I took my granddaughter away and when we left the changing rooms the boy was being worked on by paramedics and was turning blue. It was very upsetting.”
The operator of the busy Dundee Road site extended its sympathies to the family of the youngster. In a brief statement Nicola McCormack of the Red Lion Holiday Park said, “There was a boy in the swimming pool with his mother and sister, and another boy who we believe to be his brother.
“It seems he suffered some kind of medical episode and was under water for a short while. This is currently the extent of our knowledge. Our thoughts are with the boy and his family.”
Paramedics arrived quickly on the scene after the alarm was raised and are understood to have spent some time attempting to resuscitate the boy before he was rushed by ambulance to Ninewells Hospital. Traffic on Kingsway, Dundee, was brought to a halt to allow the ambulance, under police escort, to reach hospital as quickly as possible.
The Seafront leisure complex, which sits on the north edge of the site close to the main reception and a play area, remained closed on Saturday following the afternoon’s events, but staff confirmed that it was operating normally on Sunday.
Saturday’s weather had been poor, but the return of summer sunshine meant the holiday park and adjacent West Links recreational area was busy with locals and visitors, many of whom had been shocked to learn of the accident.
Ian and Ina Slorance from Dunfermline have owned a caravan at the Red Lion for many years, which sits close to the leisure centre and pool.
“We saw all the police cars but didn’t know what it was all about, and then we found out it was a wee boy who had been found in the water,” Mr Slorance said. “We knew there was something badly badly wrong because of the number of police cars and the ambulance there and we just hope that he’s going to be okay.
“I usually go up for a swim in the morning but I didn’t today. It’s a lovely pool and a lot of people go there.”
The Red Lion park is part of the business portfolio of Perthshire Caravans, having been bought over by the Errol company in 1988. For many years a prime holiday destination, particularly with west coast visitors, it has enjoyed substantial investment by the firm, which also operates the Loch Earn leisure park.
The Seafront leisure complex was completed in 2007 at a cost of £1.6 million and includes the 17x12m swimming pool a spa bath and toddlers’ pool.