Man drowns in UAE hotel pool while lifeguard has breakfast

A 29-year-old Asian lifeguard faces trial at the Sharjah Misdemeanour Court on charges of dereliction of duty which caused the death of a 65-year-old man after he drowned in a swimming pool at a hotel in Sharjah's Al Majaz area.

As per the sheet of indictment, the public prosecution charged the suspect of failing to show up at the swimming pool as he was having his breakfast while the victim struggled to stay afloat.

The case came to the fore when the Al Qasimi Hospital alerted the Buhaira police station about the drowning of an Asian resident.

The victim was shifted to the emergency section in a national ambulance, and was admitted to the intensive care unit. However, he could not make it and died six hours later.

The police duty officer at the hospital reported the drowning case to the Buhaira police station after taking the statement of the wife of the victim, who was shifted to the criminal lab for investigations.

Police probe revealed that the lifeguard on duty was not present at the pool at the time of the incident.

The defendant told the police and later the prosecution that he was having his breakfast at the cafeteria of the hotel.

"Five minutes into my breakfast, I got a call from a fellow worker that someone had drowned in the hotel's swimming pool."

"I rushed to the pool where I saw the security man trying to resuscitate the victim but to no avail."

The ambulance and paramedics then arrived and immediately took the man to the hospital.

The Sharjah Police arrested the defendant, who admitted to his negligence and failure to observe his duty.

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com