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Similar suction incident occurred prior to man's death in pool, coroner's court heard |
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Thursday, 25 October 2007 |
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The coroner's court heard yesterday that Mr Arndt Starke, a 2m tall man and a trained diver was sucked to the floor of the pool and drown in his Goldenhill Park Condominium. Six rescuers tried to pull him off a gaping hole at the floor of the spa pool but were unsuccessful. It was because the suction force from the drain pipe on the floor of the pool that held Mr Starke back, was equal to the force exerted by 16 people when the accident occurred last December. The court was told that this accident was something waiting to be happened. Four months before, a 12-year-old boy was similarly pulled underwater by a suction pipe. He survived because his friend pulled him to safety in time. The pool operator subsequently lowered the suction pressure for the pool. Witnesses told the court that the grates covering the drain pipe were broken and were likely to have been so before the December incident. It was reported that an emergency stop button (for stopping the pool pumps), a safety requirement according to experts, could not be found in the pool area. The hearing continues.
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