An investigation is launched to examine the circumstances, determine negligence and assign liability
The Lahore district administration on Wednesday sealed a private water park in Batapur after a nine-year-old girl allegedly got stuck in a drainage pipe and died during draining operations of the pool, while police arrested three officials of the facility in connection with the incident.
The incident occurred on Monday at the Sozo water park, where management allegedly began draining a pool before making sure the children had gotten out of the water. According to police, the suction from a high-capacity drain pump pushed the girl into the pool’s drain pipe, where she became trapped.
Rescuers searched for the girl for between 40 and 50 minutes before locating her inside the drainage pipe. She could not be revived.
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Following the incident, the district administration sealed the water park and suspended all activities. A spokesperson for the district administration said the premises had been sealed on the day of the incident and legal action had been initiated against its management for alleged negligence.
The spokesperson also said the water park had been operating without the necessary safety and fitness measures.
The Batapur police registered a case under Section 322 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code following a complaint by the victim’s mother.
In the complaint, the mother alleged that her daughter’s death was due to the negligence of the water park management and named the park manager, security in charge and CCTV in charge of the case.
A spokesperson for the deputy inspector general of police operations (DIG) said the three named suspects had been arrested.
The police spokesperson also highlighted that the girl died after being trapped in the drainage pipe and noted that no safety net had been installed over the opening.
DIG Operations Faisal Kamran said an investigation had been launched to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, determine the extent of any negligence and assign responsibility to those responsible.
The investigation focuses on the alleged decision to begin draining the pool while the children were still inside and whether mandatory safety measures around the drainage system had been ignored, he said.
Kamran said strict action will be taken against those responsible for the girl’s death and justice will be ensured for the victim.
The victim had recently returned from Dubai with her family and was her parents’ only child.
