Case Summary: Kajil Devi
Jan 10, 2021CASE SUMMARY
Kajil Devi, from Hanworth in Middlesex, was 15 years old and on holiday with her family when she drowned at Cotswold Country Park on Sunday, 11 July 2010. She was enjoying a barbeque with her parents, her 20-year-old sister Sumit, two uncles and aunties and three cousins (My London, Sept 2013). The Country Park has 140 lakes set in 40 square miles of countryside and hosts an open water lake open to the public as a waterpark which, on the day of the accident, was packed with over 200 swimmers.
Kajil was in the water playing with an inflatable with her two cousins at around 15:45. Kajil and her cousins could not swim. Akshay Kumar, who was 18 years old at the time of the accident, left Kajil and two cousins playing a game where one of the three pushed the inflatable boat out and then pulled it back to shore using the rope (Tye, 2012). Kajil's 13-year-old cousin could not grab the rope from the inflatable boat and began floating further away from the shore. Kajil attempted to reach for the rope thrown by her 10-year-old cousin three times to pull the two of them back to safety. When on the third attempt, her 13-year-old cousin grabbed the rope, Kajil could no longer support herself in her position resting on the side of the boat and slipped below the water (Kilvington, 2010; Teed, 2010; Tye, 2012). Her younger cousin later said at the inquest that Kajil went under, and all he could see was her hair.
Nathan Stroud, who was 26-year-old, was throwing a ball around in the water with friends at the time of the accident. Mr Stroud and his friends noticed a lifeguard talking to swimmers who said someone had gone missing. Mr Stroud would later say that seemed to be confusion about whether the missing person had gone to the beach toilet (Tye, 2012).
Around 10 minutes later, Kajil’s body was discovered in the water (around 20 minutes after she sank below the waterline) by Nathan’s friend Pierre. Nathan said his friend Pierre had stumbled on something underwater and looked scared. After Nathan searched for a minute or two, something touched my leg. It felt like a cushion. I reached down to grab it, spotted a purple T-Shirt, and then saw it was a girl. I pulled the body to the surface (Swindon Advertiser, April 2012; Tye, 2012). Pierre and Nathan pulled Kajil’s body to shore, where lifeguards then responded and began CPR.
Witness Ben Greenaway, who was sitting on the nearby beach, said (Teed, 2010):
It was a horrible experience, one of the worst things I have seen. I was sitting on the shore with my daughter and a family called the lifeguards over saying they could not find their daughter.
Around five minutes later, a couple of swimmers dragged a body out of the lake right where my daughter was playing.
Mrs Bunce was at the water park on the day of the accident with her husband and two children, who were regular visitors. She described what she saw when Kajil was pulled from the water (Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, April 2012):
We were on the bank at about 16:00 when there was a commotion and my husband said they were pulling someone from the water. I immediately went to see if I could help and by the time I got there and said I was a nurse, the lifeguard, Annabel Clark, was giving CPR and mouth to mouth.
A doctor was also there, and we tried to clear her airway, which was blocked with vomit. Her chest was not rising with the mouth to mouth and I realised the air was going into her tummy so we turned her onto her side to try and get water out of her lungs before going back to CPR.
Kajil showed no signs of taking a breath at any time, and they continued working on her until paramedics arrived. I commend the actions of the lifeguard Annabel Clark, who was very impressive and had done everything possible. But there was confusion among other staff as to where the air ambulance might be able to land and there seemed to be no procedure in place for this.
Kajil was taken by air ambulance to Great Western Hospital and treated in intensive care but died the following day (Swindon Advertiser, July 2010; Tye, 2012).
Funeral (Hanworth Crematorium & Kings Street Gurdwara, 20 July 2010)
More than 800 friends and family gathered at Hanworth Crematorium from 09:30 on Tuesday, 20 July 2010, for Kajil's funeral, following an 08:30 service at the Gurdwara on King Street, Southall. Friends and well-wishers have also posted on a Facebook group set up in Kajil’s memory (Kilvington, 2010). Speaking to the Hounslow and Brentford Times, her aunt, Chandri Kumar, said:
The family had been overwhelmed by the huge number of people who had attended Kajil’s funeral including family from Germany and India. We are really upset she died so young. So many people were crying for her. It has been a huge shock to all of us. It has been 10 days, but it feels like she’s still here.
She was everything to me. She was the complete package. Kajil had hoped to attend Oxford University to study law.
A perfect human being. The family are concerned about Kajil’s mother, and her father who is partially blind, as they relied on their daughter to help around the house and to fill in paperwork for them.
Kaji’s parents Sunil Kumar and Nima Devi were at the sentencing hearing. Mr Kumar blamed the authorities for her death, saying if they had acted sooner, she would still be alive:
My cousin who saw it all happen and went to the lifeguard to get help but he didn't take him seriously. If the lifeguard has responded quicker, the air ambulance would have got there quicker and Kajil would still be alive today.
Her brother Amid Kumar, who was 17 years old, said (Teed, 2010; Swindon Advertiser, July 2010; Kilvington, 2010):
My mum and dad just can’t take it in. She sacrificed herself to save my cousin, she saved that little kid’s life. She could have gone to ask someone for help but that’s the thing about caring people, they don’t think they just do it.
She always loved education and was a hard worker. She was only 15 but she seemed much older. Kajil dreamed of becoming a lawyer and had recently spent two weeks on a mini-pupillage with a set of barrister’s chambers.
She could have gone to ask someone for help but that’s the thing about caring people, they don’t think, they just do it. We love her and she will never be forgotten. Our family are preparing to fly to India to scatter her ashes.
Headteacher of Feltham Community College, Victoria Eadie, was one of the mourners who attended the services on Tuesday, along with Kajil’s school friends. She hosted a special assembly at the school following Kajil’s death on 12 July where pupils shared their memories of Kajil. Ms Eadie said (Kilvington, 2010; My London, Oct 2013):
Kajil’s friends were discussing how to create a lasting tribute at the school with the teenager’s family. We were all privileged in knowing Kajil. She was an inspiration to us all and her memory will live on through the success of her friends – just as she would have wished.
Kajil had been recognised in the newspaper a year earlier having teamed up with two fellow school friends in a bid to tackle racism and violence in the town following their experience of violence or racism. They decided to make a stand as part of a GCSE school citizenship project They worked with Aik Saath, a charity dedicated to promoting peace and racial harmony among young people.
Kajil’s form tutor Alex Pett said (Kilvington, 2010; My London, September 2013):
Kajil had all the qualities any teacher could want from a student. She was knowledgeable, diligent, kind, humble, happy, inquisitive, methodical, neat, well presented and clear about her own future.
We were all privileged in knowing Kajil. She was an inspiration to us all and her memory will live on through the success of her friends – just as she would have wished.
Her help was always offered with absolute humility and truly empowered her friends and peers. None of us at Feltham can remember a time when we saw Kajil upset. She was always the happiest student in her group. Many of us were fortunate to be blessed with her friendship and kindness.
In a relatively short space of time, she made firm friendships and her talent shone out across the school. Wall posts on the group include one from Calum Graves reading:
It feels like a part of me has been ripped out. She was amazing, smart and a well-talented person, such heroic acts, cost her life.
All her friends are still grieving, and no doubt will be for a long time.
Writing on a tribute page set up for Kajil on the social networking site Facebook (Kilvington, 2010). Matt Philp wrote (Teed, 2010):
You were the brightest and kindest out of any of us and your future had success written all over it. You didn’t care what anyone else said you always smiled and most of all you made other people smile, which is amazing just like you.
It just doesn’t seem real that you’re gone but still you’re not gone as your spirit stays here with us.
George Martin said (Teed, 2010):
You put in 100 per cent into everything that you loved. It always paid off with A* and As. You were the most intelligent person in our year and even the school.
You had a good future ahead of you, and you did not deserve to die so early with so much to accomplish. You will always remain in our hearts and everyone who knew you will never forget you.
Investigation
The Operations Director at Cotswold Country Park, Adrian Davey, praised the actions of the public as well as those of a lifeguard for trying to resuscitate Kajil (King, July 2010; My London, Sept 2013):
The tragedy could not have been handled better. The staff at the beach were very quick to act. While the closest lifeguard resuscitated the girl, the other three lifeguards resumed their duties monitoring the beach, bathing, and boating areas, ensuring the safety of other visitors, as they are trained to do.
All the staff at the beach were very quick to act. While the closest lifeguard resuscitated the girl, the other three lifeguards resumed their duties, monitoring the beach, bathing, and boating areas, ensuring the safety of other visitors, as they are trained to do. We have lifeguards at the park as a precautionary measure.
However, we are careful to point out to visitors that our lifeguards are not a replacement for adult supervision. Our rules, which are on signs around the park, clearly state that children and inexperienced swimmers must be supervised at all times.
All our lifeguards are trained to the standards required of the Institute of Qualified Lifeguards with which they are registered and have formal first aid and resuscitation training. I am very proud of all my members of staff, who acted calmly and with complete professionalism during the incident.
Peter Davison, a spokesperson for Watermark, said (D’Arcy, July 2010):
On weekends at the lake, there are four lifeguards on duty, even though the park is not legally obliged to have lifeguards. Staffing was adequate and there were emergency protocols in place. The protocol is that if someone is pulled out of the water and needs emergency treatment one lifeguard will attempt CPR. The other three lifeguards go back to their duties.
There is no defibrillator or other breathing apparatus at the site because the RLSS UK lifeguards who are on-site are not qualified to use them. There are pieces of medical equipment that can be used in these situations but can only be used by medical professionals. Our lifeguards are trained to do CPR and that is the recognised way of treating drowning incidents.
The park has only had several incidents requiring an ambulance in the last three years and had passed its most recent annual safety inspection.
Cotswold District Council said (Swindon Advertiser, July 2010; King, July 2010; Tye, Nov 2011):
We can confirm that there has been ongoing health and safety regulation at the Country Park site. There continues to be a robust regulatory regime in place and we can confirm that any health and safety matters arising would have been addressed by HSE working jointly with Cotswold District Council. Cotswold District Council, working jointly with the police, is now investigating this incident.
We have put together an independent panel that will consider the report once it is finally published. The panel will be made up of Sir Edward Horsfall for the Conservatives, Cllr Lee Searles for the Liberal Democrats and Cllr Chris Hancock, who is independent. The detailed investigation is ongoing.
We expect to make a decision about the findings of the investigation in the near future. It will be necessary to communicate this decision to third parties, in particular the family of Kajil, before making any further public announcement.
I can confirm that a letter sent by Somerford Keynes Parish Council dated 30th June 2010 was received by the Council’s health and safety officer on the 1st of July 2010. The parish council raised concerns over safety at the water park at a meeting on the 7th of June 2010. The district council forwarded this letter to the Health and Safety Executive on 8th July 2010, wrongly assuming it was the appropriate regulator.
Though responsibility for the site had been transferred to the Health and Safety Executive in January 2002, this reverted back to the council when property developers Watermark leased the site in December 2007. The Council’s audit committee has subsequently brought this finding and the letter to light at a recent special meeting of the council’s audit committee on Tuesday.
Audit officer Robert Milford said in the report that, as there is no legal obligation to report a change in responsibilities such as this, neither agency was aware of this until an investigation was launched into the death (Tye, Nov 2011):
The understanding from both parties at the time was that this was the responsibility of the HSE. The committee agreed that this arrangement should be reviewed and clarified, and also that the database where these details are stored should be regularly updated to avoid confusion in the future.
Following the accident, the Parish Council forwarded their June 2010 letter to the HSE. Murial Watkins of the Parish Council wrote on 11 June 2013 addressed to the environmental health department of Cotswolds District Council, raising concerns about insufficient first-aiders and lifeguards on the beach (My London, Sept 2013). The BBC was also sent the letter, which published extracts from the letter during the investigation (King, July 2010; My London, Sept 2013):
…In particular, the concerns were about insufficient first aid officers (both as an employer and provider of public services) and insufficient lifeguards on the beach.
As I am sure you are aware, Keynes Country Park (or Cotswold Country Park and Beach) is a busy public attraction in our parish and is visited by large numbers of families with young children who are keen to enjoy the beach and to swim in the lake.
We would very much appreciate it if you could investigate these concerns and satisfy all concerned that the appropriate measures are in place to ensure public safety at this amenity.
Criticism of the park by eyewitnesses was also circulating in the media in the wake of Kajil’s death. Ben Greenaway, who was just yards away from the rescue attempt, said (D’Arcy, July 2010):
There was a lack of emergency procedures in place. I ran to the nearest place where there were employees. I was thinking why is there not more of an emergency system? Other than finding people there was no other way of communicating with people. Where were the walkie talkies?
Steven Veitch also reported a similar experience of having to pull his twin girls from the water at Cotswold Water Park in July 2003 (D’Arcy, 2010). He spoke out a week after Kajil drowned, saying his seven-year-old daughters would not be here today if he had not intervened as the lifeguards had failed to notice their struggle. Mr Veitch said he had never been back to the resort.
Coroner’s inquest (2012) (Unreported, 24 April, Gloucester Coroners Court)
An inquest was opened on Friday, 16 July 2010 and has been adjourned until the police had ruled out any criminal charges against the operator of Cotswold Country Park (Kilvington, 2010). The inquest resumed on Tuesday, 24 April 2012, under Deputy Gloucestershire coroner Tom Osborne.
(i) The accident
The inquest heard how Kajil had been playing in the water on 11 July 2010 with three of her cousins when the inflatable dinghy they were playing with started to drift away with one of Kajil’s cousins on it (Patel, 2014). Neither Kajil nor her two younger cousins could swim (Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, April 2012; Tye, 2012). Kajil pursued the dingy to rescue her cousin and then disappeared. The family thought Kajil had gone to the toilet. After she did not return, a search was started by members of her family (Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, April 2012).
The inquest heard concerns from off-duty lifeguard Leo Hayward that there were not enough lifeguards at Cotswold County park where Kajil drowned. Leo explained that (Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, April 2012):
The lifeguards are each responsible for a zone of the beach and the water. If there were four on duty, there would be one at each end and the others spaced between them. But on the day, there were only two lifeguards on duty; despite the park being almost at full capacity. When I did my lifeguard training in a swimming pool, I had been told that there should be one lifeguard to 30 swimmers.
As far as I knew, the water park did not have a recognised ratio for lifeguards. I have raised the problem with the manager before the accident, saying that more lifeguards were needed. I was aware that another lifeguard had also raised it with him.
The Feltham Community School pupil acted as a translator to her Afghani parents Sunil Duvar and Mini Devi, and helped to take care of her partially blind father. Amid, a Kingston College Student told how the lifeguard wouldn't listen to his cousin and asked the panicked family to search the shore before he entered the water. Kajil’s brother Amid said (My London, Sept 2013):
My 10-year-old cousin was screaming in the boat as it was floating away. Kajil tried to grab on to the rope but it was too deep for her but she can't swim. The water was at eye level and she just slipped under the water.
It is a big beach and there was only one lifeguard from what they could see. A member of the public had to pull her from the water.
My family are still in shock, my mum fainted yesterday, she was so close to them, wherever they went she was there helping. She was so generous and caring, she used to even help raise her friends' grades by tutoring them. God always takes the good people.
(ii) Expert evidence
Yesterday, head of leisure safety for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), Peter Cornell, told the inquest (Tye, 2012; Swindon Advertiser, March 2015):
My view is that Kajil would only have been rescued if she had been prevented from going under the water. Once an unobserved person has slipped under the surface it is very rare for even experienced lifeguards to be able to revive them. It seemed likely to me that Kajil slipped under the water unnoticed and the number of lifeguards on duty would not have made any difference. If no-one saw her there is very little anyone can do. In freshwater, people can sink very quickly. She would only have been rescued if she had been prevented from going under the water.
Operators of leisure centres are required to carry out proper risk assessments. The risk assessment at the park had, in my view, been carried out by someone with no knowledge of how to do so.
(iii) The Coroner’s ruling
A coroner ruled that despite criticism of the lake’s management and claims just two inexperienced lifeguards were on duty that day, the 15-year-old’s death could not have been avoided (Cumber, July 2014). Summing up his ruling of accidental death, Mr Osbourne said (Tye, 2012; BBC News, 2013; Telegraph, 2015; Patel, 2014):
Kajil and her two younger cousins could not swim and were not wearing buoyancy aids as they played with an inflatable boat in the water. When their older cousin Akshay went to get something to eat, he told them to stay near the beach in shallow water until he got back but they started playing a game, pushing a nine-year-old out in the boat, and when he threw a rope, pulling him back in again.
I think they got into deeper water and when Kajil slipped under, her cousin tried to grab her. She then looked back towards the boat, and when she looked round, she thought Kajil had gone to the beach. It would not have occurred to a nine-year-old that she was still under the water. There were only two inexperienced lifeguards managing about 200 people on the beach and in the water. Two minutes or so later one of the children ran up and told me Akshay that Kajil was missing.
Whilst there has been criticism of the number of lifeguards on duty at the site, I do not believe this contributed to Kajil's death. Kajil most probably slipped under the water when she got out of her depth. Even if more lifeguards had been on duty, it was unlikely that she would have been seen.
I commend the actions of lifeguard Annabel Clark and nurse Alison Bunce who both did their utmost to help the Kajil.
Charging decision
The Rt. Hon. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, who represents the constituency where Kajil drowned said (BBC News, 2013):
I am disappointed this report has taken so long; three years is too long to wait. I would urge Cotswold District Council to publish the report urgently so that Kajil's family can finally have the answers to the questions that have been hanging over them for so long.
At the time of the accident, Kajil had been playing with two younger family members, none of whom could swim, in an inflatable boat. The teenager slipped under the water trying to retrieve the boat, which had been close to the shore, as it drifted out.
Her body was found 20 minutes later by a member of the public. Kajil was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation by a lifeguard and taken to hospital where she died the following day.
Sarah Powell, chairman of Somerford Keynes Parish Council, said:
I think Cotswold District Council has a duty of care to produce a report so long after the incident happened. I would have thought that if the inquest happened 15 months ago, then a report should be published.
Sir Edward Horsefall, chairing the independent committee set up by the Council to investigate the accident, said neither agency was at fault (Tye, Nov 2011):
As far as I’m concerned, the procedures as understood were followed. This agreement clearly needs to be clarified and refreshed. The investigation will remain open to include any additional findings revealed by the coroner’s report.
The Devi family told the Chronicle that they intend to pursue a private prosecution against WM Active Ltd following the coroners ruling of accidental death. Kail’s 19-year-old brother Amid Kumar said (Cumber, July 2014):
From the evidence given by witnesses, we understand there were only two lifeguards, aged just 16 and 17, responsible for about 200 people in the water and on the beach. That’s not right.
We are planning to sue because they (Watermark) need to realise their mistake and stop this happening again. No one should have to go through what we’re going through.
We as a family believe she was trying to save her younger cousin, whose dinghy had drifted into deeper water when she slipped and went under.
A spokesman for WM Active (Watermark) said (Cumber, July 2014):
Watermark is grateful to the coroner for his careful and thorough inquiry into this tragic accident. Our thoughts remain with the family of Kajil at this difficult time.
A spokesman for Cotswold District Council said (Cumber, July 2014):
This was a terrible tragedy and, as the health and safety regulating authority, we have assisted the Coroner in this inquest. The council will now consider the issues and evidence that emerged at the inquest.
Any enforcement action could only be considered once the council’s current investigation has been completed and proper consideration given to the evidence as a whole.
Following a re-examination of the information collected as part of the investigation, Cotswold District Council decided to prosecute WM Active Ltd for a breach of s.3(1) HSWA 1974. As a result, it was not necessary for the Devi family to pursue a private prosecution of WM Active.
R v WM Active Ltd (2015) (Unreported, 13 March, Gloucester Crown Court)
The case was sent from Gloucester Magistrates Court to Gloucester Crown Court for trial on Tuesday, 15 July 2014. The owners of Cotswold Water Park, WM Active Ltd, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of non-employees and exposing them to health and safety risks (Swindon Advertiser, March 2015; Patel, 2014). The water park admitted to poor public safety at its site in Gloucester, where Kajil drowned in 2010.
HHJ Teare adjourned the case to allow time to prepare for the Newton Hearing to determine the facts relevant for sentencing and to establish the financial and other circumstances relevant to the assessment of WM Active’s sentence.
The fact-finding (Newton) hearing resumed on Friday, 13 March 2015 hearing in front of HHJ Teare. The Court heard how confusion about Kajil’s whereabouts had delayed Kajil’s rescue from the water for over 20 minutes after none of the lifeguards saw Kajil slip below the surface of the water. It also heard how employment checks in relation to the lifeguards on duty had not been properly completed. The court heard evidence of the lack of a recognised lifeguard to bather ratio and how confusion about where to land the air ambulance because of a lack of pre-planned emergency arrangements for access and landing. HHJ Teare took account of HM Active’s financial position and the impact since the accident alongside the above facts when determining the sentence he must pass.
HHJ Teare fined WM Active Ltd £90,000 and ordered the firm to pay £150,000 in costs to Cotswold District Council.
References (46)
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.
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Citation: Jacklin, D. 2021. Case Summary: Kajil Devi. (Leisure Litigation Blog, 10th January).
