A girl from Germany is in intensive care after her hair was pulled into a vent while she swam at the Maslinica hotel resort in Rabac, Croatia, on Wednesday morning.
Local media report that she had dived and was about one metre underwater when she neared an air vent. Her hair was sucked in and she could not surface. After she was freed, a family member and another hotel guest gave first aid until emergency services arrived. She was flown by helicopter to Rijeka hospital.
She is understood 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. She gave no precise details about the girl’s condition or prognosis, according to Jutarnji.
A reported statement from Maslinica said that, as set out in the police statement, there had been an accident at the resort’s indoor pool. The hotel said it was deeply shaken, that its thoughts were with the girl and her family, and that it hoped for a speedy recovery. It said it had been in contact with the family and relevant services from the first moment, and it thanked rescuers, people who assisted, and emergency workers.
Labin police have opened an investigation into how her hair became caught and whether any safety regulations were breached. The Mirror has contacted the resort for comment.
The case is the latest in a series of incidents in which people have been caught in swimming-pool vents. In April, 12-year-old Matteo Brandimarti died after his leg was sucked into a jacuzzi nozzle at the Duca di Montefeltro Hotel in Pennabilli, near Rimini, Italy, while the hydromassage function was on. He was trapped underwater for almost five minutes before staff freed him by cutting power to the pump. Emergency crews performed CPR and he was flown to hospital; on 9 April medics declared him brain dead after cardiac arrest and severe brain damage from lack of oxygen.