Toddler dies after 'slipping from dad's arms going down slide' at park
The 21-month-old girl, from Germany, was flown to hospital but, despite the best efforts of medical staff, she succumbed to her brain and internal organ injuries. These were sustained at the Aquagan waterpark in Lopar, Croatia, where it is believed the girl slipped from her dad's arms and fell from a height of about three and a half metres onto a concrete floor.
Eyewitnesses told local press they heard a commotion at the waterpark, and staff and emergency services rushed to a section of the attraction. The Mayor of Lopar said the community has been left "extremely shaken" following the tragedy, thought to be the first major accident at the waterpark in 20 years.
Speaking after the accident on Tuesday afternoon, one witness said: "The waiter had just brought me coffee. When we heard crying and shouting, we thought the child had drowned. Then we saw a man carrying the child on the side. A doctor from Slovenia happened to be there and immediately came to help."
It is understood that CPR was performed for several minutes before the toddler was hurriedly taken to Rijeka Hospital in a helicopter, reports the Mirror. Part of the Aquagan waterpark in Lopar, Croatia is pictured. (Image: Lopar)
The youngster was moved to the Rijeka Hospital Clinical Centre, which stated today: "Despite prompt care, multiple interventions and intensive treatment, the child died in the morning hours."
Zdenko Jakuc, the Mayor of Lopar, expressed: "It is an understatement to say that we are all extremely shaken. When the helicopter landed, everything stopped. We all looked at the sky and hoped for the best."
A spokesperson for the Lopar tourist board commented: "This park has been operating for years, nothing like this has ever been recorded. Lopar is a place that is perceived as safe, peaceful, and ideal for families with small children."
When a group of students clambered onto the 40ft-high Banzai Pipeline slide at Waterworld USA in Concord, California, a section of the slide gave way under their weight, sending the youngsters plummeting to the ground.
Justin Aaron, an English teacher at the school who was marking papers at the base of the slide when the incident occurred, remembered: "I looked up and saw bodies flying through the air. They were landing in trees, on rocks and on the concrete...It was like it was happening in slow motion."
As the chute collapsed under three times its designed weight capacity, a group of students huddled together fell to the ground first, followed by others who collided against wooden support poles before hitting the ground or other students.
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