Trágico ahogamiento infantil
Niña de tres años fallece en Mallorca tras ahogarse en una piscina de casa alquilada
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A three-year-old girl died Friday morning at Hospital Universitari Son Espases in Palma de Mallorca, two days after nearly drowning in a private vacation pool in Pollença. The child had been unconscious in the pool when emergency services arrived on Wednesday. She never regained consciousness. El Periódico reported that the family had rented the property for their holiday.
Medical teams performed CPR for 35 minutes at the scene before restoring the girl's heartbeat. She was then rushed to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. By Friday morning, she was gone. Diario de Ibiza confirmed the death was caused by irreversible brain damage from lack of oxygen.
What Happened at the Pollença Villa on Wednesday
At 12:40 PM on Wednesday, June 24, someone called 112 from a rural vacation villa in Pollença, in northern Mallorca. The family had found their three-year-old floating unconscious in the pool. Police and an ambulance from SAMU 061 — the regional emergency medical service — arrived within minutes. Preliminary reports suggest the family was preparing to leave for an outing when the child slipped away unnoticed.
Doctors worked on the girl for about 35 minutes before her heart started beating again. She was stabilized and transferred by ICU ambulance to Son Espases, the Balearic Islands' main hospital. She arrived in a deep coma. Neurological tests on Thursday showed the worst. By Friday morning, she had suffered multi-organ failure and died. Levante EMV reported that the Guardia Civil has opened an investigation into the incident.
Private Villa Pools Carry Little Legal Safety Obligation
This death is the fourth child drowning in the Balearic Islands this summer. It raises hard questions about pool safety at rental villas. In Spain, public and hotel pools must meet strict safety rules. Private rental villas do not. They are not required to have a lifeguard. Many also lack perimeter fencing or pool covers that could stop a toddler from falling in.
Over 70% of child drownings in the Balearic Islands happen in private pools, not at beaches, according to data from the Royal Spanish Lifesaving Federation (RFESS). Children aged 1 to 4 are the highest-risk group, making up about 15% of all fatal drownings in Spain. El Periódico de Aragón noted that this death marks the 142nd accidental drowning in Spain so far in 2026.
Guardia Civil Investigates Whether the Pool Met Safety Rules
The Guardia Civil's Judicial Police unit is now examining whether the villa's pool met the technical requirements of its rental license. If inspectors find violations — such as missing depth markings or non-slip surfaces — the property owner could face charges of homicide by imprudence. The case file is currently held by the Duty Court in Inca. LNE confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
Consumer groups are pushing for tougher rules. There is an active proposal in the Balearic Parliament to require self-closing gates and perimeter fencing at any rental property marketed to families with children under six. Pollença, a top spot for luxury villa rentals, saw a nearly identical incident in June 2024, also involving a three-year-old. El Día reported that local authorities expressed condolences but stressed that personal supervision remains the first line of defense.
Safety Experts Say Two Minutes Is All It Takes
Francisco Cano, Director of the Royal Spanish Lifesaving Federation, has warned repeatedly that "10 centimeters of water and two minutes are enough for a child to drown." Safety experts promote the "10/20 Rule": scan the pool every 10 seconds and be able to reach the child within 20 seconds. Experts say that rule is harder to follow in unfamiliar vacation settings, where parents are distracted and routines are broken.
Información noted that grief counselors warn of a specific trauma tied to vacation tragedies. Families are far from home. They face foreign hospitals, police, and legal systems while in shock. The call for stronger pool fencing laws is now growing louder, with advocates arguing that no family should face that situation because a gate was missing.
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