A German girl is in intensive care after her hair became caught in a vent while swimming in a hotel pool in Croatia.
Incident at Maslinica Resort
The incident happened on Wednesday morning at the Maslinica hotel resort in Rabac. The girl was swimming about one metre underwater when her hair got caught and she could not surface.
Local media reported that the girl had dived into the water and her hair was sucked in as she neared the air vent. A family member and another hotel guest helped free her and provided first aid until emergency services arrived.
Hospital Treatment and Investigation
The girl was taken by helicopter to Rijeka hospital, where she has been undergoing treatment. She is reported to be in a stable condition but remains in intensive care. Dr Kristina Lah Tomulić, head of the paediatric unit at Rijeka Hospital, said medics are doing their best to help her recover, but she did not give precise details about her condition or prognosis.
The Labin police have started an investigation into how her hair became caught and whether any safety regulations were breached.
Hotel Statement
A statement from the Maslinica hotel read: "As stated in the police statement, there was an accident at the indoor pool of our resort. We are deeply shaken by this accident, our thoughts are with the girl and her family, and we sincerely hope for her speedy recovery. From the first moment, we have been available and in contact with the girl's family and all relevant services."
The statement also thanked everyone who participated in the rescue and provided assistance, as well as emergency services workers for their intervention.
Previous Pool Vent Incident
This is the latest in a series of cases where people have got into difficulty after becoming caught in swimming pool vents. In April, a 12-year-old boy died after being sucked into a jacuzzi filter at an Italian hotel. Matteo Brandimarti was on holiday with his family at the Duca di Montefeltro Hotel in Pennabilli, near Rimini, when his leg got sucked into a nozzle while the hydromassage function was active. He was trapped underwater for almost five minutes before staff turned off the mains power to the pump. Emergency services performed CPR and restarted his heart before he was flown to hospital by air ambulance. He was placed on life support, but on April 9 medics declared him brain dead after he suffered cardiac arrest and severe brain damage due to hypoxia.
