Girl, 11, drowns after being trapped by spa pump: [1 All-round Country Edition]
John Stapleton, Tracy Ong. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 27 Mar 2006: 3.
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Abstract
Her parents, David and Donna Rankin, own one of the apartments at Forster on the mid-NSW north coast and are close friends with the complex management. They arrived at the pool just as their daughter’s body was being carried from the spa.
Greg Randall, owner of Beaches International, opposite the Sevan Apartments, said: “You look at your own kids and take a deep breath. It is incredibly sad. There must be a million-odd spas around Australia, in resorts and homes. It brings it back how fragile life is.
Royal Lifesaving Australia chief executive Rob Bradley called for mandatory cut-off switches on spa pumps and mesh guards. The cut- off switches would activate whenever there was a blockage.
Full Text
AN 11-year-old girl has died after becoming trapped on the bottom of a spa at an upmarket resort apartment complex after “duck diving” with a friend.
Shannon Rankin was grabbed by the suction pump on the spa’s floor on Saturday afternoon and despite desperate efforts she could not be prised free, even when the pump was turned off.
Her parents, David and Donna Rankin, own one of the apartments at Forster on the mid-NSW north coast and are close friends with the complex management. They arrived at the pool just as their daughter’s body was being carried from the spa.
The drowning comes just two weeks after the near-drowning of an eight-year-old girl whose hair became caught in a spa suction point at a home in Mosman on Sydney’s north shore.
Shannon, one of three children, had gone to the complex from the family’s Forster home for a swim. Other guests were alerted by thecries of her friend.
She was given CPR by ambulance officers immediately after being pulled out. She was flown by helicopter to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Inspector Allan Fidock, from the Forster police, described the incident as “very very sad”.
The suction pump appeared to have grabbed her stomach, he said, and the design, construction and operation of the spa would be a crucial part of the investigation.
“Everyone is very shocked,” he said.
“It is obviously a terrible tragedy for the family. The death has caused enormous distress to police and emergency workers.”
Neighbour Craig Gill ran across the road when he heard a girl screaming that her best friend was drowning.
“You hear (screaming) all the time with their playing and all, but it started getting louder and louder,” he said. “That’s not normal.”
Three men were already in the pool, bailing out spa water with buckets when Mr Gill returned with a bucket.
He and his partner Penny Kirby estimated Shannon was under the water for seven to eight minutes. “Her lips were blue and her body was white when they pulled her out, and she just flopped on to the ground,” Ms Kirby said.
Greg Randall, owner of Beaches International, opposite the Sevan Apartments, said: “You look at your own kids and take a deep breath. It is incredibly sad. There must be a million-odd spas around Australia, in resorts and homes. It brings it back how fragile life is.
“I looked at my own daughter, who’s five, this morning, and thought: `Oh my God’. It is so upsetting.”
The Sevan complex was opened just a few months ago and commands prices up to $2300 a night for a penthouse in peak season.
The family is well known in the area, owning the local Professionals Real Estate agency.
Royal Lifesaving Australia chief executive Rob Bradley called for mandatory cut-off switches on spa pumps and mesh guards. The cut- off switches would activate whenever there was a blockage.
NSW Fair Trading Minister Diane Beamer has asked her department to determine whether there was any need to review existing safety standards.