The four-year-old British boy saw his arm stuck inside an exposed suction hole at the hotel pool in Can Picafort, Majorca – and needed a major rescue effort to set him free
A four-year-old British boy was left desperately trying to escape after his arm was sucked into the cleaning system of a hotel swimming pool in Majorca.
Guests are said to have looked on in horror as the child suddenly became stuck after putting his arm into the pool’s suction hole, which was not covered. The vacuum effect from the hole trapped him up to his elbow, forcing staff at the Hotel Zafiro in Can Picafort, a resort in the north of the island, to call in the emergency services. Paramedics arrived first at the scene but were unable to free the boy, forcing firefighters to drain the pool and then use a pneumatic drill to reach a pipe leading to the hole.
The boy was given a helmet and ear protectors as they drilled down, before they eventually cut it off at the source around 30 minutes later and freed the boy.
Photographs from the scene show the boy in an orange cap waiting patiently as emergency workers attempt to get him out.
Police and members of the Spanish Guardia Civil were also at the scene. The boy was taken to a local clinic but thankfully did not sustain any serious injuries.
Police later questioned the hotel’s lifeguards, and one admitted that he had already reported issues with the suction system to the resort’s management team, reports Euro Weekly.
A makeshift solution to the issue had seen them reinsert a screw to cover the hole, though this frequently came loose. An investigation into potential negligence by hotel management is now underway, local reports said.
Majorca flight chaos
It comes after hundreds of British holidaymakers were left stranded abroad after they were hit by a series of flight cancellations due to severe weather.
Some of those affected were families set to fly back to the UK from Majorca this week after jetting off to Spain for the half-term holidays – but have been hampered by delays caused by air traffic control restrictions.
Airlines have said the issue is out of their control, and are reportedly unable to fully compensate holidaymakers.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, due to the impact of widespread thunderstorms across Northern Europe yesterday, some flights were unable to operate as planned.
“We did all we could to minimise the impact of the weather disruption on our customers, providing options to rebook or a refund their flights as well as providing hotel accommodation and meals for these who required them. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused.”