TOKYO -- A 6-year-old child passed away following a drowning incident in a pool at a sports club located in Koganei, a city on the outskirts of Tokyo, on July 28, leading to an ongoing police inquiry.
A first-grade student from the city drowned in a pool at Megalos Musashikoganei during a trial lesson as part of an after-school child care program, according to the Metropolitan Police Department's Koganei Police Station, as reported by the Mainichi Shimbun.
As per the MPD, the boy drowned a few minutes after entering the pool at approximately 10:30 a.m. on July 28 and was transported to the hospital in an unconscious and severe state. He was declared deceased just after 10 p.m. on the same day.
The boy measured roughly 113 centimeters in height, whereas the location where he was discovered submerged had a depth of approximately 120 cm. Even though there were adjustable platforms around 40 cm in height in certain areas of the pool to help children stand on the floor, no such structure was present at the place where he drowned.
A report from a Mainichi interview with Nomura Real Estate Life & Sports Co., a sports club operator located in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, has indicated that a girl died by drowning in the same pool in March 2024.
As per Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc., the parent organization of the sports club operator, a girl under 10 years old drowned during a "children's swimming" class around 11:20 a.m. on March 24 last year. She was taken to a hospital after being pulled out of the water and was not in any critical condition. The incident was caused by the failure to secure a flotation device for her, and it seems she slipped off an adjustment board located inside the pool.
The next day, the operator sent a letter to parents, saying, "An incident took place in which a child drowned because a flotation device was not properly used. We sincerely apologize for the significant inconvenience caused by shortcomings in our club's safety procedures."
In the letter, the operator mentioned actions taken to avoid similar incidents at all of its Megalos sports clubs, including making sure participants used floating equipment, enhancing supervision at the pool, and decreasing the number of people in classes that require such devices from 12 to 10.
The most recent incident took place approximately 16 months following the last one. At the time the 6-year-old boy drowned, there was a staff member from the sports club in the pool, and a part-time employee from the after-school child care service was near the pool. The MPD is examining whether there were problems with the safety management system of the sports club and the after-school care service staff, with the possibility of charging them with professional negligence leading to death.
When questioned by the Mainichi, Nomura Real Estate Holdings stated, "Although we attempted to enhance the situation following the previous incident, another drowning has taken place. We will work hard to determine the underlying reasons."
The sports club operator issued a statement on July 30, saying, "We deeply pray for the rest of the child's soul and extend our heartfelt sympathy to his family." The company mentioned that it will halt pool operations at all its sports clubs until the reason is determined, and also noted, "We will take steps to ensure such an incident does not occur again."
(Japanese original by Kengo Suga, Yuka Asahina and Masaki Takahashi, Tokyo City News Department)