Boy, 7, drowns in RWS pool during family trip

Police are investigating after a seven-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool during a family trip to Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) on Sunday.

Officers were called to the pool at about 6pm and the boy was later taken unconscious to Singapore General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao, the boy was seen playing with a friend at the deeper end of the pool, where the water is about 1.2m deep.

A guest staying at a nearby hotel told The Straits Times that "a large crowd had gathered" when the boy was pulled out and two lifeguards attended to his motionless body before medics arrived.

A woman, believed to be in her 50s and related to the boy, appeared distraught and had to be seated in a wheelchair and wheeled away.

Police are treating the incident as an unnatural death.

An RWS spokesman said the company "is deeply saddened by the incident" and is assisting with investigations.

He added: "Our lifeguards on duty immediately performed CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) for the boy and the paramedics, upon arrival, continued to administer CPR, while the ambulance was activated. The team also provided assistance to the family on site."

This article was first published on June 17, 2015.
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