A four-year-old girl has died after a tragic incident at Waterworld in Stoke-on-Trent, despite desperate attempts by staff and paramedics to save her. The emergency services were called to the Festival Park attraction at around 4.20pm on August 4 following multiple reports from the public.
West Midlands Ambulance Service dispatched two ambulances, a paramedic officer, and an air ambulance. The first crew arrived within three minutes to find Waterworld staff and bystanders performing CPR on the child, who was in a critical condition. Paramedics took over and provided advanced life support before rushing her to Royal Stoke University Hospital, where she was sadly pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Waterworld has remained closed on August 5 as a mark of respect for the family, who are being supported by specially trained police officers. A spokesperson for the park said: 'All our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during these extremely difficult times. Waterworld is in shock and has decided to remain closed tomorrow out of respect for the family.'
Staffordshire Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident. Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Maskew urged the public not to speculate, saying: 'Our thoughts are with the family at this terribly sad time. We would ask that members of the public avoid speculating in these early stages of the investigation and allow the family to grieve.'
Witnesses are asked to contact Staffordshire Police on 101, quoting incident 460 of August 4.
