An 11-year-old girl tragically passed away after her hair got stuck in a swimming pool’s suction pipe. Identified as Alice Ferrari, she was vacationing with her family in Sestri Levante, Italy, when the incident occurred at a lido on Wednesday, July 15.
Alice had entered a shallow indoor pool to escape the extreme heat outside but was pulled underwater when her hair got caught in a suction nozzle. Another child noticed her absence and raised the alarm.
The lido’s co-manager, Daniele Muzio, swiftly intervened by cutting Alice’s hair with scissors to free her from the pool’s filtration system. Despite CPR efforts for 45 minutes, Alice remained unconscious and was airlifted to Gaslini Children’s Hospital in Genoa where she later succumbed to her injuries.
Authorities are now probing whether safety protocols, such as the requirement for children under 12 to be supervised by an adult in pools, were followed. Initial findings suggest that the lido may have failed to display the necessary signage indicating this rule.
Muzio and his mother Anna Copello, the co-managers of the Bagni Segesta lido, are facing investigation over the tragic incident. The small pool, approximately one meter deep, has been seized for safety inspections.
In response to the recent pool-related deaths, Italy’s Minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policies, Nello Musumeci, along with Health Minister Orazio Schillaci, have proposed stricter pool safety measures to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Alice, hailing from Suisio, was an avid equestrian enthusiast, training at the Isola Equestrian Centre in Bergamo. The Italian Equestrian Sports Federation praised her as a talented young rider with a promising future.
In a heartfelt decision, Alice’s parents have opted to donate her organs, with the procedure scheduled after a post-mortem examination on July 21.