Drowning boy saved by off-duty policeman

There have been several drownings and near drownings in various swimming complexes in the Auckland region.

An off-duty police officer turned hero yesterday, reviving a boy found floating face down in a pool at Parakai Springs in Auckland.

Manager of the swimming complex Dion Tilson told the Herald on Sunday the officer hauled the child - who Starship Children's Hospital last night said was 5 - from the water and performed CPR on him.

Emergency services were immediately alerted. That included Auckland's Westpac Rescue Helicopter, but by the time it arrived at Parakai Springs, northwest of Auckland, the officer had resuscitated the boy.

Westpac helicopter chief paramedic Barry Watkin said the incident was "classic, like in the movies - he coughed and spluttered and came round".

After he was revived, the young boy was taken to Starship in a serious but stable condition.

"As I understand it, [the police officer] removed the boy from the pool and he started CPR and a member of the public advised one of our staff," Tilson said.

"By the time they got to where the boy was, he had basically recovered. The officer and the pool staff then took the boy to the first aid room."

Tilson believed the child was not being fully supervised at the time.

"I think it was a case that the parents thought the child was being supervised by another member of the family," he said.

"Our lifeguards are trained to monitor the pool but it is the responsibility of the parent [to supervise a child]."

A WorkSafe New Zealand spokesperson said the organisation had not been notified of the incident but that didn't mean an investigation wouldn't be carried out.

There have been several drownings and near drownings in various swimming complexes in the Auckland region.

In 2012, a toddler had a lucky escape after falling into the pool at Parakai Springs as his mother walked on, unaware of his plight, and in 2004 a 4-year-old girl ended up in hospital after being plucked unconscious from a pool at the Palm Springs thermal pools.

In 2008, 2-year-old Nylah Masae Fa'amanu Vau drowned at Waiwera Thermal Hot Pools after she wandered away from the kiddie pool where she was playing with other children and fell into the tower pool.

Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Matt Claridge said parents should not leave it up to a lifeguard to supervise their children.

"If there is a message for parents taking their kids to the pool it is that you are in partnership with the lifeguards," he said.

"I would never ever suggest to a parent that they be naive enough to leave the supervision of their child to what is likely to be one lifeguard for that particular area because it is not a one-on-one ratio.

"Nothing will ever beat the one-on-one attention from a parent."