this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2024
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12
An 8-year-old girl was sucked into a swimming pool pipe at a Hilton hotel. The management company blamed her parents (www.independent.co.uk)
submitted 5 months ago by jeffw@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
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[–] Forfaden@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I work as a pool maintenance technician in Texas. There are laws that are pretty strict for public pools for anti-entrapment drains

From what I've been able to read and from what I've read from interviews, the pipe was like 6" wide and didn't have a cover. I believe it was a wall return that she was sucked into. But it was plumbed backwards and so it was pulling water instead of pushing

I work with multiple river pumps and they're frequently the biggest pumps in the pump room. So the water they return is at a pretty high flow rate and none of them have a cover on the pressure side. The ones I work with have multiple openings of an inch or two

But the main reason this happened was someone fucked up with plumbing the pump and used the discharge side for the pressure side. No idea how someone wouldn't notice

I think I read that they didn't disclose that they were renovating and adding a river. No idea why it wasn't looked at either. So, so, so many levels of failure lead to this

[–] bcgm3@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Dunno if it changes anything, but user224 posted this link elsewhere in this discussion, and it says the pipe was 30cm (almost a foot) in diameter -- I'm no expert, but the photos in this and OP's article seem to show an opening about that size to me. I only mention it because that seemed uncommonly large to me.

[–] assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Sorry, what the fuck. This is a complete failure on engineering controls and safety. A safety analysis on an industrial plant would find something like this to be a major safety vulnerability that needs several redundant safeguards.

Jesus fucking Christ.

[–] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Few few things in life get industrial plant level of analysis.

[–] assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

We should really change that. Things would be so much safer if we applied this level of scrutiny for anything considering the public.

[–] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml -1 points 5 months ago

We would have a lot less then.

[–] Aeri@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

This is a "someone should go to jail" level of criminal negligence.

[–] Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 5 months ago

It's manslaughter. You kill someone with a machine, even if you weren't trying to, it's right up there next to murder.

[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Regardless of whether or not the parents were around the ability for a body to be forcibly pulled into the machinery is an obvious failure in operating a safe pool.

[–] Wogi@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's a failure on a number of levels, failure to maintain a safe pool, AND failure to maintain a safe working environment.

And honestly the employee refusing to review security footage until the police showed up when a child was missing with the fuck?

[–] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The kind of employee that asks "is this right for the company" before doing anything.

[–] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Yeah maybe but it could also be someone desparate in a shitty low pay job who is afraid of getting fired. Just saying, not enough info

[–] bcgm3@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

You can say that again. Growing up in Florida, I've been in a lot of swimming pools and water parks, and I have never seen anything like what is shown in the video attached to this article. That opening is huge. user224's link says the pipe is 30cm (almost a foot) in diameter. Even in giant public pools I've been in, I can't recall seeing an opening or fixture that size. That, coupled with a lack of any cover on it, seems so obviously dangerous. God, what an awful way to go.

[–] Hobbes@startrek.website 1 points 5 months ago

My submechaniphobia is at an 11 right now, and this further confirms for me that's it's not really a phobia but a real legit fear.

Delta P: https://youtu.be/AEtbFm_CjE0?si=OYBw9OAxFPgxAM2m

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world -1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Seems like litigation is still ongoing but most recent articles I've read state that pump was either recently repaired or replaced, and flow was in the wrong direction. If it was outflow, nobody could swim in there if they wanted to (but if it was off, a small child still could, so a grate still should've been on there). They suspect hole was installed later to probably align with flow requirements for the new pump.

[–] user224@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I found more info here (news.com.au).
Also shows image of the pipe and:

“[It] appears right now the pump was put in there, and it was probably malfunctioning because of the open pipe that she ended up in was supposed to be pushing water out.”

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world -1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Fuck sake that was a hard read. That poor mother. I can't even comprehend the purpose of that pipe. They describe it as a lazy river so I'm assuming it's some sort of equalizer pipe to the other side. Water flows in one direction around the pool and I think what they're saying is the flow of the river was reversed for whatever reason. There would be quite a strong amount of suction through there, even if it wasn't a direct intake line to the pump.

Edit: oh this is old news, months old. Looks like it was indeed an outlet:

“Her poor little body was contorted when she was sucked into this hole and pipe 20 feet back. Her body was inside of the motor when she had to be extracted," he said. "They had to break up concrete in order to extract her, cut pipe. It was absolutely horrific.”

Pump's flow was reversed for whatever reason.

Elsewhere I read the pump actually did have an entrapment system engaged and shut off, but by the time she blocked the pipe and sensors detected the obstruction, she was already wedged 20 feet into the pipe.

[–] Daedskin@lemm.ee 2 points 5 months ago

When I managed a pool, I remember the Virginia Graeme Baker act being something I was told about pretty early on; it was a prevalent enough of a thing that sometimes trying to start up my spa's motor wouldn't provide a clear enough suction, and the motor would shut off for safety. A properly managed pool should never have had this risk.

[–] Feliskatos@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

Corporations are psychopaths.

[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 months ago

well that article was exactly as awful as the headline sounds.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Why didn't the pipe have a screen over it?

[–] Burninator05@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

If there was only one pipe or doesn't really matter if there is a screen or not. If the pipe had a cover she would have still been stuck on the bottom and no one likely would have been able to get her out of the water. If a second pipe had been there the pressure wouldn't have built up enough to suck her in.

[–] alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

This is a solved engineering problem, they have screens that are shaped such that a person can't cover it.

[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 months ago

So all it takes is a screen presumably dome shaped to prevent something like this from happening? Damn, companies are unforgivable, they should seriously be charged with murder.

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

Elsewhere I read the pump actually did have an entrapment system engaged and shut off, but by the time she blocked the pipe and sensors detected the obstruction, she was already wedged 20 feet into the pipe.

In other words, if this had a simple grate and she blocked it with her body, the pump would've shut off almost immediately.

The other problem is this hole was supposed to be an outlet, not an inlet. But the pump was reversed for whatever reason.

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

So vacuum pipes are not required to have grates installed on them? If not for peoples safety than to at least prevent trash clogs

[–] brygphilomena@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

While there are significant regulations around intake pipes, including grates and/or having multiple intakes so that no single one can be completely obstructed to create a suction scenario where someone can be trapped, this particular pipe was found to be plumbed on the wrong side of the pump. It was sucking in water when it was supposed to be ejecting water.

This is serious for the hotel chain, franchisee, installer/contractor, and inspector. This had to fail so many checks to have occurred. It wasn't a chance occurrence for someone to be sucked in and seriously harmed or killed with the way this was plumbed; it was a matter of time when someone was going to be seriously injured or killed.

Truly a tragedy, and I cannot for the life of me imagine the pain that family is going through right now.

[–] Skanky@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Guts, by Chuck Palahniuk.

You're welcome

[–] archomrade@midwest.social 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Omg, is the last story they mention in that article based on a story I read on reddit once, where [CW Body Horror]

!where someone sits on a pool drain and has their intestines sucked out of their rectum?!<

I remember someone saying it happened to a young girl that ended up dying from it, and it's still one of the most horrific things I've ever heard. I don't even care if they plagiarized it from that book, I carry that anxiety with me to every pool I go to.

[–] brygphilomena@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Her name was Abigail Taylor. She was 6.

Truly a heart-wrenching story. https://abbeyshope.org/abbeys-story/

[–] D1G17AL@kbin.run 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Delta P is a scary phenomenon. Who else watched that terrifying video with the far too cheerful narrator?

[–] qevlarr@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

When it got ya, it's gotcha

[–] HappycamperNZ@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

When its got you...

[–] Waraugh@lemmy.dbzer0.com -1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Blows my mind how neglectful parents are when their kids are in swimming pools. Always trying to find someone else to blame rather than their
lazy ass ‘set em up infront of the TV’ parenting style.

[–] Drusas@kbin.run 1 points 5 months ago

The worst is how common it is for them to leave their children by a pool and just assume that whatever random adults are around will be watching their kids.

Edit: I didn't say that's what happened here. Clearly, it's not. That doesn't change that what I said above is super common.

[–] TheBraveSirRobbin@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Did you read the article?

“Her poor little body was contorted when she was sucked into this hole and pipe 20 feet back. Her body was inside of the motor when she had to be extracted," Nava continued at the time. "They had to break up concrete in order to extract her, cut pipe. It was absolutely horrific.”

I'm a strong swimmer, and even if I was watching closely anything I did would have only put me in danger without helping her.

Say what you want about how long it took the parents to find the kid, maybe they were wrong, but the hotel is 100% responsible here. If it wasn't this kid it would have been someone else, maybe an adult in which case what parents would you blame then?

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world -1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

That poor child... And those poor ems workers who had to dig out her little body...

I tagged along with my wife for a pool day at her friend's house with our kids. I was swimming along near the wall of the pool when my foot was violently pulled into the vaccuum line. Really spooked me. It's code for those suction lines to have a spring-loaded cover. This one didn't. I luckily freed my foot and went to check the valves on the pump. All suction was routed to the vacuum line, none to skimmer.

Some expensive pumps have an anti-entrapment system but most do not.

I warned her to get that shit fixed ASAP...

For commercial pools of this scale, there's just no chance to resist.

I own a pool now and I take all that shit very seriously. You don't mess around with water.