Toddler dies after ‘slipping from dad's arms while going down slide' at waterpark
The 21-month-old girl, from Germany, was airlifted to hospital but died of brain injuries after the incident at the Aquagan waterpark in Lopar, Croatia.
A witness said they heard 'crying and shouting' after the youngster fell as a Slovenian doctor rushed to her side to perform CPR.
'The waiter had just brought me coffee. When we heard crying and shouting, we thought the child had drowned,' they told local media.
Lopar's mayor Zdenko Jakuc said the community has been left "extremely shaken" following the tragedy, which is thought to have been the first major accident at the waterpark decades.
'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,' he said.
A Rijeka Hospital Clinical Centre spokesperson said: 'Despite prompt care, multiple interventions and intensive treatment, the child died in the morning hours.'
The head of the hospital's paediatric clinic, Dr Iva Bilić Čače, said: 'Numerous serious bodily injuries, including injuries to the brain and internal organs, have been verified.'
A spokesperson for Lopar tourist board said: "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."
Josip Ivanić, owner of the waterpark told JutarnjiLIST: "I wasn't here when it happened and what can I tell you. It's a tragedy for us, for the family, for everyone.
"The police are now in the park and investigating everything that happened. Now everyone is telling their own story about everything. Something like this has never happened in this park, which I have managed for more than 30 years.
"The police are now in the park and investigating everything that happened. Now everyone is telling their own story about everything. Something like this has never happened in this park, which I have managed for more than 30 years."
The Primorje-Gorski Kotar Police Department are investigating the incident to establish a cause of death.
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