A BRITISH boy was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition on Thursday after nearly drowning in a hotel swimming pool on the popular island of Lanzarote.
The five-year-old was flown by helicopter to the Materno Infantil University Hospital in nearby Gran Canaria after he was pulled from the water by a lifeguard and a doctor at a hotel in the resort of Playa Blanca, located in the municipality of Yaiza.
The pair performed CPR on the youngster after discovering he had gone into cardiac arrest.
Emergency services continued the resuscitation efforts and successfully restored his pulse, before transferring him to hospital.
A spokesperson for the regional government’s emergency coordination centre said on Friday: “At 12.46pm yesterday, the Canary Islands government’s Emergency and Security Coordinating Centre received an alert reporting that a minor had been pulled out of a hotel swimming pool showing signs of drowning and in cardiorespiratory arrest, and that the establishment’s lifeguard, a doctor and other people who were at the scene were performing resuscitation manoeuvres on the child.
“Policia Local were mobilised along with the Canary Islands emergency services and the Lanzarote Consortium for Security, Emergencies, Rescue and Prevention.
“An advanced life support ambulance and another basic life support ambulance were also mobilised, as well as an air ambulance.
“Upon arrival at the scene of the incident, the medical personnel assessed and treated the affected person, a five-year-old minor who remained in cardiorespiratory arrest, and continued performing advanced resuscitation manoeuvres that succeeded in restoring his pulse.
“Once he was stabilised, the youngster was transported in critical condition by medical helicopter, which landed next to the hotel and took him to the Materno Infantil University Hospital in the Gran Canarian capital of Las Palmas.
“Policia Local worked with firefighters to secure the landing and take-off manoeuvres of the medical helicopter.”
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