Case Summary: Harjeet Rathor
Dec 12, 2020CASE SUMMARY
Harjeet Kaur Rathor, from Leeds, was five years old when on the afternoon of Sunday 4 August 2007, she went swimming with a large family group at the Dome Leisure Centre in Doncaster, South Yorkshire (BBC, 2007; HCM, 2007). Harjeet's father, Mr Narinder Singh, said his wife's parents lived in Doncaster, and he had taken his wife, Mrs Kalwant Rathor, and daughter to stay with them for a holiday last Friday (The Newsroom, 2007).
The family decided to go swimming as a treat before a planned trip to the cinema. Harjeet went swimming with her parents, three siblings, and her grandmother. Harjeet’s aunt and uncle (Mr Rajinder Singh) also took their one-year-old daughter swimming with the family (Mail Online, 2009). Mrs Nirmal Kaur Singh, Harjeet’s grandmother, sat in the viewing area watching the family in the pool.
Harjeet could not swim and used buoyancy aids whilst playing with her uncle Rajinder in the children's pool at a leisure centre. Harjeet's last moments were captured on CCTV and played to the inquest jury (Mail Online, 2009). Harjeet was wearing a multi-coloured costume and was frolicking in the 1.2m-deep Treasure Pool with her uncle Mr Rajinder Singh. The two could be seen sitting on the side of a jacuzzi before playing on some airbeds. Both could be seen splashing water happily at each other (Mail Online, 2009).
Mr Rajinder Singh, Harjeet's uncle, said in a statement following the accident (Mail Online, 2009):
We were in the smaller of three pools at The Dome when Harjeet came up to me and said “Uncle I want to get in the big pool as well.”
I can’t swim but I picked her up, gave her a piggy-back on his shoulders and they played in the larger of the pools for a couple of minutes until he got out to take his daughter to the showers.
Harjeet’s mother then took Harjeet to the changing rooms to get changed.
At around 15:30, Ms Erin Bradford, a swimmer in the pool at the time of the accident, said (Mail Online, 2009):
I felt something touch the bottom of my right leg. I looked down and saw a little girl on the floor of the pool. The girl wasn't moving.
Harjeet’s mother, Mrs Kalwant Rathor, said following the accident (Mail Online, 2009):
I went into the changing rooms with Harjeet but the next minute she had gone. I searched the changing room and shower area before hearing an alarm sound. It was very loud like a fire alarm but coming from the poolside.
I saw a crowd of people outside the changing rooms at the side of the pool, then I saw a lifeguard drag Harjeet's body from the pool.
I witnessed Harjeet being given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by the lifeguards. I was in total shock.
Lifeguard, Mr James Marriot, said (Mail Online, 2009):
I was patrolling the poolside area, but the pool was very busy, and the water was not that clear as there were many swimmers in it.
The next minute a swimmer [Ms Bradford] gets my attention and says that there is a girl face down in the water.
There were a lot of people around the area where the girl was. They were blocking my vision.
Mr Rajinder Singh reported that after handing Harjeet over to her mum to get changed, the next thing he noticed was the pool alarm and pool attendants performing CPR on Harjeet on the poolside. Harjeet was pulled from the water by Mr Marriot and his colleagues. Despite attempts by pool staff, paramedics, and emergency medical staff to revive Harjeet, she was pronounced dead two hours later at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.
Harjeet's grandmother, Mrs Nirmal Kaur Singh, went to The Dome with her granddaughter (The Newsroom, 2007):
I went to the viewing area with my daughter to get the younger children changed.
Harjeet went and joined the boys and went in the paddling pool area. I saw the children playing in the paddling pool and after 10 or 15 minutes I suggested it was time to bring them out to get changed to go to the pictures.
I went to get some chips, and whilst I was eating them, I noticed Dome staff rushing about and saw an ambulance. When I returned to The Lagoons, I saw people leaving the pool still wet and was told there had been an accident.
I then saw Harjeet laid out near the pool, not moving.
Harjeet’s father, Mr Narinder Singh (28), a shop assistant, gave a statement from the family home in Leeds. A tearful Mr Narinder Singh said (The Star, 2007):
It was a summer holiday treat, but it ended in every parent's nightmare. We have lost a lovely little girl who was fun-loving, playful and such a loving person. She touched the hearts of anyone she met. She was a healthy and playful child.
She was our only daughter and came from a caring family. We loved her loads and deeply miss her.
We are grateful to all our family, relatives, friends, and neighbours who have stepped up to help us and we want to thank them for all the support they have given.
Investigation
The Police confirmed they received a call to attend the Dome Leisure Centre at around 15:45 (Mail Online, 2007). The pool was closed following the accident. Gavin Baldwin, chief executive of the Dome, said (BBC, 2007; HCM, 2007):
Harjeet's death was a tragic incident. A young girl was found unconscious and trained lifeguards and staff immediately carried out first aid procedures and called for the emergency services to attend.
Staff training in rescue and first aid is regularly reinforced in case of such an incident and I would commend all the staff involved for their efficient and professional response.
An inquest into Harjeet's death is expected to be opened in Doncaster on Thursday. The Health and Safety Executive has been informed of the incident.
All our sympathies go out to her family and loved ones for their loss, and our thoughts are with them at this time.
DC Neil Kent said:
Detectives are studying CCTV footage and believe there may still be people who were at the pool at the time that have not yet been in contact with police.
They are urging anyone who witnessed the incident or who might hold information.
The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation into the death which is the first at the leisure centre since it opened 18 years ago (Mail Online, 2009).
Coroner’s Inquest (27 January 2009)
Doncaster Coroner Stanley Hooper expressed his sympathy to the family. He explained that the inquest needed to be adjourned to await the outcome of a full and thorough investigation by the HSE (The Newsroom, 2007; The Star, 2007).
The HSE decided, following their investigation, not to bring charges against any individual or the company which operated the Dome Leisure Centre. The HSE had reached the conclusion that despite these concerns, they were not sufficiently causative of the drowning to warrant bringing criminal charges against the operator, the lifeguard.
The Police had earlier ruled out bringing any criminal charges against the family. The Coroner’s inquest was reconvened on 27 January 2009 under Coroner John Sleightholme (Mail Online, 2009). A jury heard how Harjeet vanished from her mother’s side in the changing room before re-entering poolside and, a short while after, falling into the crowded pool unnoticed by lifeguards and other swimmers. Harjeet was unable to get herself to safety and drowned.
The inquest heard evidence of the Dome's child admission policy which stated that children under the age of eight must be accompanied by a swimming adult, with no more than two children to one adult (Mail Online, 15:48). The inquest also heard evidence of how the lifeguard’s view of where Harjeet drowned may have been obstructed by swimmers and poor water clarity.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death (Mirror, 2009).
References (11)
Note: I wish those affected all the best in their future. No part of this article purports to attribute blame. See our methodology page for further details of how these case summaries are constructed.
BBC News. (2007). Girl, 5, in swimming pool death. (7th August, 15:40). Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/6931658.stm accessed 20th November 2020.
Brooke, C. (2009). Girl, five, drowning in packed pool after slipping away from mother in changing room. (Mail Online, 28th January, 19:58). Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1130478/Girl-drowned-packed-pool-slipping-away-mother-changing-room.html accessed 20th November 2020.
HCM. (2007). Girl drowns at Doncaster Dome. (7th August, 00:00). Available at: https://www.healthclubmanagement.co.uk/health-club-management-news/Girl-drowns-at-Doncaster-Dome/28253 accessed 20th November 2020.
Leisure Opportunities. (2007). Girl drowns at Doncaster Dome. (7th August, 00:00). Available at: https://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/news/Girl-drowns-at-Doncaster-Dome/28253 accessed 20th November 2020.
Mail Online. (2007). Leisure centre closed after girl, 5, drowns in pool. (5th August, 15:48). Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-473295/Leisure-centre-closed-girl-5-drowns-pool.html accessed 20th November 2020.
Metro. (2007). Girl’s pool death tragic accident. (5th August, 15:45). Available at: https://metro.co.uk/2007/08/05/girls-pool-death-tragic-accident-5615/ accessed 20th November 2020.
Mirror (2009). Girl dies in public pool. (28th January, 10:14). Available at: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/girl-dies-in-public-pool-373653 accessed 20th November 2020.
Sport, Parks & Leisure. (2007). Girl drowns at Doncaster Dome. (7th August, 00:00). Available at: https://www.sportparksleisure.com/detail.cfm?pagetype=detail&subject=news&codeID=28253 accessed 20th November 2020.
The Newsroom. (2007). Appeal renewed for witnesses to five year old girl’s pool drowning. (10th August, 13:17). Available at: https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/appeal-renewed-witnesses-five-year-old-girls-pool-drowning-468179 accessed 20th November 2020.
The Newsroom. (2007). Swimming pool treat ended in tragedy. (9th August, 11:49). Available at: https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/swimming-pool-treat-ended-trgedy-468193 accessed 20th November 2020.
The Telegraph. (2009). Girl drowned in public swimming pool. (28th January, 16:56). Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/4374608/Girl-drowned-in-public-swimming-pool.html accessed 20th November 2020.
Citation: Jacklin, D. 2020. Case Summary: Harjeet Rathor. Water Incident Research Hub, 12 December.
