British girl,11, dies after drowning in swimming pool on holiday in Spain 

An 11-year-old British girl has died after being found unconscious in a swimming pool in Spain while on holiday with her family.

She was taken to hospital after she was discovered at a resort in Morro Goble, Pájara in Fuertaventura, on Wednesday.

Emergency services rushed to hospital after she was resuscitated by an on-duty lifeguard.

But she was flow to a bigger hospital in Gran Canaria for further treatment due to the severity of her condition.

It was initially reported that the girl was five-years-old, but Spanish police have since confirmed she was 11.

They also said she got into difficulties in a children’s pool where the water depth was only 30 centimetres.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard said: ‘An 11-year-old British girl was taken to Fuerteventura Hospital on Thursday afternoon from a hotel in Morro Jable on the island’s south coast before being airlifted to the Maternal and Child University Hospital in Gran Canaria.

‘The alarm was raised around 1pm on Thursday and the youngster had gone into cardiac arrest.

‘The pool she was in was a small children’s pool which was only 30 centimetres deep.

‘The autopsy will help determine whether she suffered some sort of indisposition or health problem which might explain why she got into difficulties in such shallow water.

‘She died in the hospital in Las Palmas yesterday.

‘We are not naming the hotel where this happened.’

Her death was reported by Canarias 1,500 kilometres de Costa, with the group saying: ‘The girl who suffered a critical drowning episode in the pool of a hotel in Morro Jable died today.

‘The little girl was spending her vacation on the island of Fuerteventura with her family, originally from England.

‘It was around 1.30am when the unconscious girl was pulled from the pool.

‘Lifeguards performed CPR. The medical personnel from a SUC ambulance then continued providing care.

‘Due to the seriousness of the case, she was urgently evacuated by medical helicopter to the Materno Infantil University Hospital.

‘Despite the efforts of the medical team, the little girl was unable to overcome the dramatic event that took her life.

‘We would like to express our condolences and solidarity to her family. Please take care of and supervise your children in the water.

‘A terrible and difficult episode, once again.’

News of the British girl’s death emerged as the Spanish Royal Federation of Lifesaving and Rescue (RFESS), the national governing body for lifesaving and rescue sports in Spain, said it had never seen so many summer drownings in Spain in the past decade and described the situation this year as ‘catastrophic.’

A total of 209 people have died from drowning in May, June and July in Spain so far in 2025, according to figures it has been collating since 2016 which show this year is the worst yet.

Ninety-two of them lost their lives in July alone.

RFESS president Samuel Gomez Mayor said: ‘We are experiencing a catastrophic summer, which confirms that water does not take vacations.

‘We need to act immediately and expand the presence of trained lifeguards beyond the high season and also protect inland natural environments.’

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