In a tragic turn of events, a six-year-old girl died on Tuesday in hospital after she spent 20 days in an unconscious state. She had been found unconscious and floating on the waters of Kallang Basin Swimming Complex during her swimming lesson on Dec 20 last year, her grandmother related to Shin Min Daily News.
The Straits Times noted that the swimming mishap occurred while the instructor was conducting one-on-one guidance to a class of five, and the girl was waiting for her turn in the 0.9m-deep pool.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed that it was notified of “a case of drowning” around 7:20pm on Dec 20, and said the unconscious female was sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She was eventually moved to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where she died weeks later.
Her grandmother explained to Shin Min that the family is “not trying to assign blame”, but they “want to know what went wrong”.
“We also hope that her death serves as a reminder to others to be more alert and not to repeat this tragedy,” she added, revealing that her granddaughter was about to start Primary 1 this year.
Sport Singapore, which runs the complex, released a statement saying it was “saddened” by the death of the girl. It is currently assisting the authorities in their investigations.
According to Channel NewsAsia, the girl’s swimming coach is currently barred from teaching at public facilities, and his pool usage permit has been temporarily suspended.
