Police investigate near-drowning at Napier Aquatic Centre

The incident occurred at the Napier Aquatic Centre in Onekawa at about 11:50 am on Saturday. Photo / Paul Taylor

Police are investigating after an infant nearly drowned at Napier Aquatic Centre.

The critically injured infant was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital about midday on Saturday and was taken to Starship Children's Hospital that evening. The child is now in a stable condition.

The child was later transferred to Starship on Saturday evening, and is in a stable condition.

The aquatic centre remained closed today.

The Onekawa pools are owned by Napier City Council, and are managed and operated by NCC employees.

A Napier City Council statement said "Our thoughts are with the child and the family involved.

"We will be supporting the Napier Aquatic Centre team who responded to the incident. Napier City Council is unable to make any further comment at this time."

The public pool was closed on Saturday by police investigating the near drowning, a police spokesperson said.

Neither the police or Napier City Council would comment on how the near drowning occurred.

The police spokesperson said a decision was expected to be made on Monday, around whether police would continue to investigate.

Part of those enquiries include ascertaining whether there is a criminal element to the investigation, the spokesperson said.

The child was rushed to hospital after emergency services were called just before midday.

A spokeswoman for St John said a first responder vehicle and an ambulance attended.

Members of the public had been told to expect a police presence at the pool on Saturday afternoon while inquiries were undertaken, but there was little sign of police on Sunday.

The Napier Aquatic Centre follows PoolSafe Aquatic Facility Guidelines which are based on current best practice in the industry.

A WaterSafe NZ spokesperson said that PoolSafe is managed by Recreation Aotearoa which can provide an independent and objective review service for incidents involving serious harm or fatality.

A Napier City Council spokesperson referred questions around the circumstances of incident to police, and said the council would not be commenting on its own protocols or reviews after the near drowning.

The pool has previously been the subject of public scrutiny after NCC proposed closing it and building a new aquatic centre in Prebensen Dr in Napier.

However, that plan was shelved after the 2019 local body elections, when councillors opposed to the move were elected.

Expansion of the existing site is now being investigated after
$500,000 of Napier City Council funding was earmarked in August.

The money was previously tagged to go toward the controversial new aquatic centre at Prebensen Drive.