During Saturday, the rescue service and ambulance were called to Skara sommarland about a drowning, which led to the death of a 10-year-old boy.
Now critical voices are being raised against what visitors say are too many guests and too few staff at the adventure pool at the same time.
– It was a nasty incident for all of us who were there, says visitor Line Grønvold.
In the first of two drowning alarms at Skara sommerland on Saturday, the latter of which would turn out to be false, a lifeguard discovered a 10-year-old boy lying underwater. The boy was taken out of the pool and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started before he was flown to hospital by helicopter.
But on Sunday morning, Sahlgrenska University Hospital announced that he had died. And the police have now drawn up a report of death without suspicion of crime.
“Thick with people”
During the weekend, the soccer tournament Skara sommarland cup was also held. Entry to the water park on one of the days is included in the registration fee. Several of the parents who were there on Saturday are now critical of what they believe were too many guests and too few staff.
– It was unclear. It was thick with people in the whole bathing area, says Line Grønvold, who together with Kamilla was at the cup with a Norwegian girls’ team.
Did it feel like there were too many people?
– Yes, it was, I think.
“Normal day in high season”
But Skara sommarland, which has now launched an internal investigation into the incident, does not share the visitors’ view.
– It is an extremely tragic event, and our thoughts go first and foremost to the child’s family and relatives, of course, and also to our employees who handled the situation here in the park, says Christoffer Östling, who is acting CEO at the amusement park.
Several voices have now raised yesterday and today that there were a lot of guests in the park, too many guests. What do you say about that?
– I don’t really share that opinion. I can understand that you have the experience that there are many people in the park at the same time. During yesterday, we had approximately 6,500 guests in the park, which for us is a completely normal day in high season that we are used to handling.