By LIBBY MIDDLEBROOK
A 4-year-old boy drowned yesterday in a public swimming pool in Mangere that was supervised by lifeguards.
The child was found at the bottom of the Southern Cross Campus pool in Buckland Rd, which the Manukau City Council operates as a public pool during school holidays.
Campus director John Clark said he understood the child was swimming in the 25m outdoor pool with at least one older sibling when the tragedy occurred.
"It's about 1.5m deep across the whole pool, so for the littlies it's well over their heads."
It is understood there were at least 30 people at the pool and two lifeguards when the drowning occurred at 3.30 pm.
Inspector David Montgomery of the police northern communications centre said the boy was not breathing when pulled from the pool.
He was taken to Middlemore Hospital but could not be revived.
Southern Cross Campus staff members, at the school yesterday preparing for the start of term one, rushed to the pool to try to revive the child and care for the boy's siblings, who were "shocked and disoriented".
Local kaumatua were called to say karakia (prayers) and the school plans to review its supervision arrangements.
The Southern Cross Campus is made up of three Mangere schools that merged between 1996 and 1999.
It provides pre-school, primary, intermediate, secondary and kura kaupapa education.
The campus is credited with turning around poor school performance and falling rolls in Mangere.
Manukau City Council spokesman Chris Choat said the pool was maintained and staffed by the council during the school holidays.
He said the council did not know how the child drowned in the patrolled pool.
"As well as being a tragedy for the family it is a tragedy for a community provider," he said.
"We need to know what steps can be taken to avert something like this happening again."
The pool would be closed as a sign of respect and because of the need to understand how the drowning occurred.
Last week, another 4-year-old boy drowned, in a spa pool, at the Porirua Aquatic Centre, near Wellington.
Twenty-three people have drowned this year, including the boy yesterday. Last year, 111 people drowned.
Police still do not know how four members of a family drowned at Te Mata Bay, north of Thames, on January 13.
They hope the oldest survivor, 10-year-old Tukere Rivers Thompson, will provide the answers.
Sergeant Jim Corbett of Thames said the investigation would be finished after police interviewed Tukere.
"We have spoken to local fishermen who have 30 to 40 years' experience in the area and they think their deaths had something to do with tidal flow, but there are a lot of theories."
He said police would wait until the family were ready before speaking to Tukere.
A coroner's hearing is expected to be held in two months.
Child drowns despite pool lifeguards
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