An Avoidable Death in Paradise

My tropical island holiday in the sun turned sour last week as I had to pull the body of a young girl from the deadly clutches of the beach.

To those in the know, now is not the best time to visit this island paradise due to the monsoon. Surprisingly, this well known resort was opened and we were able to fly over direct from Subang. By and large however, weather was pleasant to a fault. However, stepping onto the sandy beach however, it is easy to see why many resorts are shut down during the monsoon season.

This child of 10 had wandered out, along with her relatives into a deeper section of the beach. Before long, they got into difficulties and the family on the beach were frantically calling for help. For a long while none came - no one realised or in some cases, cared enough to help. To be fair, many would have been intimidated by the rolling waves, fearing as much for their own lives. Thankfully, an Italian man responded to the cries and saved 3 of them, while an Englishman tried to reach the young girl.

I came to the scene just as they were hauling the girl from the sea and carried her on the last leg. By then, this child was foaming in the mouth. Subsequent attempts to resuscitate her was in vain - even this was done by the valiant Englishman. It was several minutes later that first aid assistance arrived from the resort, perhaps too little too late - and the child was confirmed dead at the local clinic.

Question at the back of my mind is, where were the life guards? Could they have been forewarned - for this was enforced the day AFTER the drowning? Where was the first aid support? Was this not foreseeable? Some senior management claimed that this was the first such incident in 4 years - NOT TRUE as many confirmed that a young local boy had drowned the year before as well! I am only speculating but perhaps this tragedy was avoidable, and certainly she stood a better chance had there been some form of emergency routine in place. For a resort of such status with a dive centre to boot, it is a wonder no news of this was reported in the local media.