Dubai Police rescue toddler trapped in swimming pool

Dubai: A three-and-half year old toddler was rescued by Dubai Police after his arm was stuck in the suction pipe at the bottom of a swimming pool, an official said on Wednesday.

Lt Colonel Ali Al Naqbi, Director of Maritime Rescue in Dubai Police, said the toddler opened the drain cover and his hand was sucked into the pipe and thus he got trapped.

A team from the Maritime rescue department and Difficult Mission Squad went to the villa located on Dubai-Al Ain road after receiving an emergency call from the toddler’s parents.

“His parents tried to rescue the child while he was in the but they couldn’t due to the water pressure in the swimming pool. The child was crying due to the pain,” Lt Col Al Naqbi said in a statement.

Officers calmed down the parents and the child after finding out that there is no serious danger to the child’s life in cooperation with the paramedic who arrived at the villa. “It was hard to extract the child’s arm because of the water pressure. We worked quickly to empty the pool manually, using buckets and a special drain device. The rescue operation lasted for two hours,” added Lt Col Al Naqbi.

After emptying the swimming pool and unplugging the electricity connection as a safety measure, Dubai Police used tools to break the cement at the bottom of the swimming pool around the child’s arm before making a hole in the bottom of the drain to equalise the air pressure and rescue the child.

Lt Col Al Naqbi praised the work of the officers, who worked for two hours to empty the swimming pool and executed the rescue plan without injuring the child.

He urged parents to monitor their children and escort them in the swimming pools if there is no lifeguard. “It is important to monitor the children all the time in swimming pools and call 999 for such emergency cases,” Lt Col Al Naqbi said.

The toddler’s parents thanked Dubai Police for the quick response to their emergency call and saving the boy’s life.