A British toddler has been rushed to hospital after a near-drowning during a family holiday at a Canary Island hotel.
The two-year-old was described as being in a “serious” condition when paramedics transported him from the scene after receiving emergency treatment beside the hotel pool.
His nationality was confirmed overnight, hours after authorities revealed that a 28-year-old man pulled from the sea and declared dead – after being discovered 300 metres off the coast of Puerto de Santiago in south-west Tenerife – was also British. The fatal suspected drowning happened at around 2pm on Monday, with the deceased man, a Tenerife resident, yet to be identified.
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The incident involving the British youngster took place at an undisclosed hotel in the municipality of Pajara in Fuerteventura, the island closest to Africa.
A spokesperson for a regional emergency response coordination centre stated: “A minor is in a serious condition after being rescued from a pool in a hotel in Fuerteventura.”
They continued: “We received a call from the reception of the hotel complex in the municipality of Pajara indicating the two-year-old had been pulled out of the water with symptoms of drowning.
“The youngster was already out of the water by the time the first emergency responders arrived. The minor received initial assistance at the scene before being transferred to Fuerteventura General Hospital. Local police and Civil Guard officers were also sent to the scene and are preparing the corresponding reports on the incident.”
Although the child’s nation The victim’s nationality wasn’t initially disclosed by police, but regional maritime safety organisation Canarias 1500 Km de Costa confirmed overnight that he was British.
The organisation released a statement detailing how four individuals were involved in drowning incidents over Easter: “A Norwegian teenager who was on holiday with her family in Mogan in Gran Canaria became the first minor this year to die from drowning in the Canary Islands.
“The rest of those affected were a British boy aged two who was in a serious condition when he was rescued from a hotel pool in Pajara in Fuerteventura; a 14-year-old boy assisted on the coast of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife; and a 70 year old woman who was airlifted to hospital in a medicalised air ambulance in a critical condition.
“The figure of four people affected is below that of the same dates for last year when there were five drowning incidents including that of a minor who also died.”
Last August, an 11-year-old British girl tragically died in hospital after encountering difficulties at a children’s pool in a hotel also located in Pajara in Fuerteventura.
She was initially rushed to Fuerteventura General Hospital before being airlifted to the Maternal and Child University Hospital in Gran Canaria, where she sadly passed away.
She was subsequently identified as Francesca Blease, from Crewe, Cheshire.
An inquest held in January revealed she was “terrified” of water and was on her first family holiday abroad when the tragedy occurred at the Club Jandia Princess Hotel.
Two fellow holidaymakers, including a midwife An intensive care physiotherapist performed CPR at the poolside until paramedics arrived.
Despite hearing that Francesca could not swim and was unsupervised, the senior coroner for Cheshire, Jacqueline Devonish, ruled her death as an accident.
The coroner stated that based on the evidence presented, there was no foreseeable risk for a child of her age in a “very, very shallow pool” with a depth ranging from 10cm (4 inches) to 60cm (24 inches).
The most recent incident involving a British child in a Fuerteventura pool took place last Monday morning, with no updates since then on the child’s condition.