Costa del Sol: Man and two children who drowned at resort named
A British man and his two children who drowned in a resort swimming pool on the Costa del Sol on Christmas Eve have been named by Spanish police.
Gabriel Diya, 52, his daughter Comfort Diya, 9, and his son Praise-Emmanuel Diya, 16, all died in the pool at Club La Costa World, near Fuengirola.
Police say they are checking claims the young girl got into difficulties and the other two died trying to save her.
Police said divers retrieved the girl's swimming hat from the pool pump.
But they said that investigators had found nothing wrong with the pool, which has since reopened.
Because the pool is a very small one, lifeguards were "not necessary" so there were none present, a spokesman for the Spanish Civil Guard told the BBC.
The hotel owners described the incident as a "tragic accident".
The Foreign Office said it was supporting a British woman in Spain, thought to be the children's mother.
The father and daughter were both British passport holders while the brother had an American passport.
Mr Diya was a pastor at Open Heavens London - a Christian religious group with origins in Nigeria - based in Charlton, south-east London, according to the group's website.
In a statement released on Christmas Day the owners of Club La Costa World said: "The Guardia Civil have carried out a full investigation which found no concerns relating to the pool in question or procedures in place, which leaves us to believe this was a tragic accident which has left everyone surrounding the incident in shock.
"Naturally, our primary concern remains the care and support of the remaining family members."
Locally-based freelance journalist Gerard Couzens said that the hotel had confirmed it had reopened the pool after it was given permission to do so by police.
"The message from the hotel is very clear. They were given permission to reopen the pool by the police yesterday," he told BBC Breakfast.
"That pool where this terrible tragedy occurred on Christmas Eve is open for use again. And the management are saying the police have given the pool a clean bill of health."
Local journalist Fernando Torres told the BBC it was a shocking scene.
"The resort workers heard the screaming and they tried to do CPR [resuscitation] as well, but they couldn't help them," he said.
"Then the emergency doctors came and they tried for 30-35 minutes, but they couldn't revive them."
Related Posts