- Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Dharmvir Singh and Gurjinder Singh were declared dead even though the onlookers performed CPR on them; the child, however, is safe and without injuries.
By: Twinkle Roy
A VACATION turned into a tragedy for an Indian family in Australia after two of its senior male members drowned in the swimming pool of their hotel while trying to save a two-year-old girl.
The deceased were identified as Dharmvir Singh, 38, and Gurjinder Singh, 65. The former was the father of the kid while the latter was her grandfather.
The incident happened at Surfers Paradise seaside resort in Gold Coast in the north-eastern Australian province of Queensland on March 31 evening. A family source told News Nine that Gurjinder was retired but “still full of life”.
It was learnt that Dharmvir and his wife had moved to Australia on student visas and had been married for about a decade.
The family had come to the resort all the way from North Clyde in Victoria for the holidays. According to an Independent report, the toddler slipped while playing by the side of the swimming pool and fell into the part where the water is deep. Her father and grandfather jumped to her rescue at once but landed in invited trouble for themselves.
Read: Holidaying at Goa beach turns tragic as British man drowns in front of wife
They were pulled out of the water by onlookers who also performed CPR on the two men before paramedics came just before 7 pm local time and attended them. Both the father and the grandfather were declared dead at the scene, succumbing to cardiac arrest.
Jason Wood, a parliamentarian, identified the duo and condoled their deaths. He said the toddler did not receive any injury.
Mitch Ware, senior operations supervisor from Queensland Ambulance Service, said a female acquaintance of the family was taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital in an emotional-but-stable state.
He described the scene as “extremely emotional”, adding, “Anyone could understand that, not just to lose one family member but to lose two family members.”
Ware cautioned the community to be more careful when around water. He said given the fact that school holidays have started, the ambulance service sees a busy period in and around Surfers Paradise as post-submersion cases go up in and around the Easter long weekend and especially around school holidays.
He advised those who are not strong swimmers and have kids around need to be extra watchful.
“We know that children, and even adults, can drown within a couple of seconds if they find themselves in those sorts of situations,” was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
Condoling the deaths that occurred at the hotel swimming pool on behalf of the Queensland Ambulance Service, Ware said such incidents can leave long-lasting effects on not just the concerned family members but also the people who were at the scene as well as the first responders.
Ware also added that it was not clear whether there were safety flotation devices by the pool at the time of the incident, and that the Queensland Police Service is looking into the matter.
