A swimming school operator has spoken out about the near-drowning of a four-year-old boy at his pools yesterday.
The incident at Kings Swim School in Christchurch occurred about 2:30pm, and the boy remained in critical condition last night.
Todd Mason, the schools director told Fairfax Media yesterday he is "praying for a positive outcome, but couldn’t comment on what had caused the near-drowning as it is being reviewed.
"We don't know anything ourselves. We're running an investigation to check that our policies were followed. We've been working on that all afternoon, and we will be continuing that through the weekend."
Mr Mason says his facility is concerned about water safety all year round, and this incident has left him "gutted".
He says if he could give any advice to parents, it is that they need to keep their children at an arm's length at all times when around water.
"Whether you're in a patrolled area at the beach or in a life guarded facility, parents need to take responsibility as well. No one is safe in or around water and it's everybody's responsibility to ensure that their loved ones are able to be helped if there's trouble."
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