The death of a seven-year-old boy in a swimming pool at the Andheri Sports Complex is the second death in a municipal pool in 19 days.
On February 21, a garment merchant, Bhavesh Chheda, had died while swimming at the Ghatkopar municipal pool. Ironically, like Qasim Siddique, 7, Chheda was a certified swimmer.
Investigations later revealed that Chheda had suffered a massive heart attack while swimming.
Mysterious drowning: Friday’s drowning, however, caused several raised eyebrows. Qasim’s body was found at a place in the pool where the water was barely four feet deep.
Vinayak Godambe, an administrator at the Andheri Sports Complex, said three trainers were supposed to be present by the poolside at the time of the incident.
Besides, the drowning came to light much before the pool closed for the day. The evening session, which began at 5:45pm, was to get over at 7:50pm. Qasim’s body was fished out at 7:30pm.
“Along with the trainers, other swimmers must have been present,” an official at the complex said. “How did no one spot the child drowning?”
Mayor Shraddha Jadhav, who chairs the trust that runs the complex, has called for a thorough inquiry into the incident. “This is undesired and unnecessary,” she said. “Officials and administrators found guilty will be punished.”
This is not the first drowning case at the Andheri pool. A teenager had drowned there three years ago.
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