A British toddler has drowned in a swimming pool in Spain’s Costa Blanca, despite efforts by a neighbour to save his life.
The 19-month-old boy was dragged out of the water unconscious on Wednesday at around 6.15pm.
An air ambulance attended the incident at a private pool in Aigues, a small village north of Alicante and southwest of Benidorm, as a neighbour attempted to save the boy’s life.
Efforts to revive him failed, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A police investigation into the tragedy is ongoing, and sources confirmed the youngster who died was British.
It has not yet been established whether the child was on holiday with his family or lived in Spain.
One local media report claimed the family had recently moved to the area, but this has not been confirmed.
A spokesman for a regional government emergency response coordination centre said: “At 6.15pm on Wednesday, we were informed a little boy had been pulled out of a private swimming pool in Aigues.
“We mobilised an air ambulance and a basic life support ambulance.
“A neighbour performed resuscitation techniques until the medical response teams arrived.
“Once they were there, the medical responders continued with advanced CPR and other resuscitation techniques but they were unable to save the child, a 19-month-old toddler who was pronounced dead at the scene.”
The UK Foreign Office has confirmed the British toddler’s death.
An FCDO spokesperson told Sky News: “We are supporting the family of a British child, who has died in Spain. Our thoughts are with the family at this very sad time.”
The incident took place at a private residential estate called El Paraiso in Aigues, home to under 1,000 people.
The boy’s death comes after two others in the area involving British nationals – both on 9 May.
Ingrid Dale, a 67-year-old expat from Norfolk, died after suffering an allergic reaction to a wasp sting at a restaurant in the coastal town of Moraira.
Paul Lebihan, originally from Gateshead, drowned in a river near Benidorm while trying to save a dog.
