Family wants mandatory lifeguards at swimming pool after woman drowns

Family wants mandatory lifeguards at swimming pool after woman drowns

 source:

Asma Ali Zain/Deputy Chief Reporter and Sajila Saseendran/Senior Reporter Monday, May 25, 2015
40-year-old Najia Alavi, an expert swimmer, drowned at the rooftop pool of her building in Al Nahda.

Most buildings in Dubai have put up notices at pools saying, ‘Any person using the pool do so at their own risk’.  — KT file photo

Dubai  - The sister of a Pakistani woman who drowned in a swimming pool on May 15 has called upon authorities to impose stricter checks on pools in residential buildings.

Recent incidents > On May 4, a 15-month-old baby of French origin drowned in the swimming pool of his family’s villa in Dubai. The mother was charged with negligence > In June 2012, a nine-year-old Indian boy died after drowning in the rooftop pool at a birthday party he was attending > In April 2011, the eight-year-old daughter of famous Indian playback singer K.S. Chithra’s drowned in a villa pool in Dubai

Heartbroken and still reeling under the shock from the sudden death of her elder sister Najia Alavi, Rabia Alavi says that authorities should make it compulsory for managements to deploy a life guard at residential building pools at all times.
“How many more lives will we lose before any action is taken?,” asks Rabia.
 “If parents are held responsible for the death of their children in cases of drowning, who is then responsible in this case?” she asks.

Like any other normal Friday afternoon, Najia, 40, went swimming at the rooftop pool of her building in Al Nahda and as usual, no one was present to monitor the swimmers.
Najia, an expert swimmer, had returned from Canada five months ago to join her parents in Dubai where she was born and raised.

She was a young, well-known face in Pakistani circles mainly because she was very passionate about her work.

On the day of the incident, Najia’s younger brother – who had planned to join her a little later for swimming – found the pool empty when he came in. “He thought she was in the changing room,” explains Rabia.

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But a while later when he swam towards the deep end of the pool, he found her lying motionless at the bottom. “He panicked and called the watchman of the building. They then pulled Najia out of the pool,” she says.

The events that ensued are too hazy for Rabia to describe. “My parents, who live in the same building, came up to the rooftop, paramedics were called and she was rushed to the Dubai Hospital.”
But no one knew how long she had been under water and what had happened. She had no obvious signs of injury to her head or anywhere else on her body.

Najia was revived in hospital. She was critical but had a stable pulse for 20 minutes until her condition deteriorated suddenly and she passed away at 6 in the evening. “Doctors concluded that she fainted while swimming and drowned.” Like several buildings in Dubai, the management has put up a notice at the pool entrance that reads ‘Any person using the swimming pool do so at their own risk.“Can the management get away by just putting up a board?” asks Rabia. “When they are responsible for maintaining the pool, then why are there no regulations that make it compulsory for them to hire a lifeguard?”

At present, lifeguards are only mandatory at public pools including those at hotels and resorts.
“Such accidents can happen with a person of any age,” she says. “Only if someone was present, she might still have been alive,” adds Rabia. Recently, the Dubai Police announced that deaths by drowning had dropped in the emirate.

Twenty people died in Dubai last year as compared to 27 deaths in 2013.
“My sister…my friend, cannot just become a statistic…I know she would have fought till the end for a cause. Now that she is no longer here, I will continue to campaign on her behalf,” says Rabia. -

(With inputs from Amira Agarib)
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com
sajila@khaleejtimes.com