A 20-month-old boy drowned in an outdoor swimming pool in Han River Park, Gwangjin District, Seoul, prompting police to launch an investigation.
According to the Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul on the 11th, police are investigating the responsibility of the city of Seoul and the swimming pool's operating company as part of their inquiry.
Police stated that the accident occurred around 6:40 p.m. on the 27th of last month when a 20-month-old foreign child fell into the adult swimming pool at Ttukseom Han River Park in Gwangjin District, Seoul. After a nurse from the pool operating company performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the child, who was found in cardiac arrest, the child was transported to the hospital but ultimately died.
The swimming pool is a facility owned by the city of Seoul, but it was found that operations are contracted out to a private company.
It is reported that the pool was in the process of changing water in preparation for nighttime operations at the time of the incident. The pool was determined to be 1 meter deep, a place where children cannot enter without a guardian. It is also known that there were no safety personnel or closed-circuit television (CCTV) near the scene. Parents reportedly told police that the accident occurred while they briefly stayed in a tent near the pool.
Police are investigating the detailed circumstances of the accident.