Boy, 7, drowns in swimming pool in Mumbai

Mumbai: A seven-year-old boy drowned in the swimming pool at Andheri Sports Complex on Friday, the first day the pool was thrown open to public after renovation.The boy, Qasim Siddique Hamid Ali, entered the swimming pool at around 6pm. Two hours later, the pool’s instructor, Raju Palkar, noticed his body floating. He was declared dead on arrival at Cooper hospital, medical superintendent SS Gawde said.

Ali, a student of St Xavier’s high school, Vile Parle, was a resident of Dhake colony, Bardha Wadi.

According to rules, three lifeguards were supposed to be posted on duty near the pool, said officials from Amboli police station. They are investigating whether there was a lapse. “We have registered a case of death due to negligence,” said a police official. Mayor Shraddha Jadhav has ordered an enquiry into the incident.

The BMC-owned pool, run by a trust, was shut for nearly eight months for renovation.