An 11-year-old girl tragically passed away after her hair got stuck in a swimming pool’s suction pipe, leading to a fatal incident. Alice Ferrari was vacationing with her family in Sestri Levante, Italy, when the tragedy occurred at a lido on Wednesday, July 15.
Seeking relief from the extreme heat, Alice went into a shallow indoor pool but was pulled underwater as her hair became entangled in a suction nozzle, unnoticed until another child noticed her absence. Daniele Muzio, the lido’s co-manager, swiftly intervened by diving in with scissors to cut Alice’s hair free from the pool’s filtration system.
Despite resuscitation efforts lasting 45 minutes, Alice was airlifted in critical condition to Gaslini Children’s Hospital in Genoa, where she sadly succumbed to her injuries on Friday.
Authorities are now probing whether safety protocols, including the supervision rule for children under 12 in pools, were adhered to. There are concerns that the lido may have neglected to display the required sign informing visitors of the supervision rule.
Muzio and Anna Copello, his mother and co-manager of Bagni Segesta lido, are now under scrutiny regarding Alice’s tragic demise. Additionally, the small pool has been seized for safety inspections.
To prevent such tragedies, Italy’s Minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policies, Nello Musumeci, along with Health Minister Orazio Schillaci, have collaborated on a bill to enforce stricter safety measures at swimming pools. The bill aims to address recent pool-related fatalities involving minors and emphasizes the importance of never leaving children unsupervised in water.
Alice, hailing from Suisio, was a talented young equestrian enthusiast who had been riding horses since the age of six. She trained at the Isola Equestrian Centre in Bergamo and was regarded as a promising rider with a bright future by the Italian Equestrian Sports Federation.
In a final act of generosity, Alice’s parents have chosen to donate her organs following a post-mortem examination scheduled for July 21.
