A seven-year-old American girl, Maya Kantengule, has drowned at her best friend’s birthday pool party, reports say.
According to The Independent, the little girl's parents said the pain of losing her “is still unbearable.”
An inquest heard that Maya Kantengule was a ‘nervous and wobbly’ swimmer and was found at the bottom of the swimming pool at Waveney River Centre holiday park in Burgh St Peter, Norfolk on May 1, 2016.
In a statement released Thursday morning, her parents, Livial and Glenda, said: “We are still devastated following the passing of our beloved daughter, Maya Grace Kantengule.
“The pain is still unbearable and even though it’s been over a year, it feels like we relive her passing every day.
“We hope that this inquest will provide answers to what happened on the day, even, though it is hard to admit that no explanation will bring back our daughter.
“We miss her dearly and she has left a void that is difficult to fill.”
Police have also released a picture of the schoolgirl, whose father Livial told an inquest in Norwich yesterday the birthday party was for her best friend.
He spoke to Jane Rainer, the mother of Maya’s friend, and decided not to stay at the pool during the party because it was mostly girls and mothers and his wife was at work.
When he was driving home, he had several missed calls on his phone and went back to the holiday park with his wife after learning there had been an accident.
The inquest heard Maya had already been taken to hospital and was pronounced dead as they were at her bedside on May 1, 2016.
Senior coroner Jacqueline Lake said Maya was retrieved from the pool but was declared dead later that day at the James Paget University Hospital near Great Yarmouth.
Mr. Kantengule said: “I was aware that Maya could swim, but neither myself nor my wife had ever seen her swim.”
He said he did not ask if there was a lifeguard, and Mrs.Rainer did not mention anything.
He added: “When Jane’s daughter was at Dell Primary School, Jane used to volunteer to help with the swimming lessons, so we assumed Maya would be adequately supervised while in the pool.”
Mrs. Rainer said she chose the centre after attending a previous birthday party there that was a ‘great success’ and knew there would not be a lifeguard there.
She said there were 10 adults and 10 children at the party, including her two daughters.
She said: “All of the parents that were attending were watching through the windows in the observation areas while the party was taking place, apart from one mother who went outside with her son.
“Had we known there was a non-swimmer in the group, that would have been completely different.”
She spoke to Maya’s father as he dropped her off, then helped her put her swimming hat and costume on as she ‘got into a tangle.’
Mrs. Rainer added: “We laughed about putting her hat on. I walked her along the corridor to the swimming pool, opened the door, called to my daughter that Maya was there.
“She was my daughter’s best friend. She shrieked with excitement that Maya was there and they went off to play in the water together.”
She said there were three inflatable balls in the pool, weighted toys for the children to fetch from the bottom of the pool, and one girl who was not confident at swimming had a rubber ring.
Mrs. Rainer said: “I did plan to swim with the children. I had had a cold for about five weeks prior to the party, so I decided not to go in the water.”
She added: “I saw Maya under the water and shouted something I don’t recall, ‘no’ or ‘help.'”
She said she ran into the pool area, kicked off her shoes and jumped in fully clothed, as her eldest daughter also helped.
Mrs. Rainer said she performed CPR on Maya at the poolside and emergency services were called.
She said Maya had been in the pool for around half an hour before this.
Mr. Kantengule said Mrs. Rainer’s daughter was the only friend they would allow Maya to go and visit after the other girl had moved schools.
They would visit each other every few weeks and Maya had previously been on a boat trip with the girl, among other days out.
Maya, who was born in Middlesbrough, lived in Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft, Suffolk, and attended Dell Primary School.
Jaqueline Bell, a teaching assistant at the school, said in a written statement that Maya started weekly swimming lessons in reception year, and spent around 10 to 15 minutes in the water each time.
She said: “She was nervous in the water and would use armbands and a wobble.
“There was always an adult with the children in the pool and they would encourage her to take her feet off the bottom.
“She could take her feet off the bottom with support but couldn’t do it on her own. The last time Maya would have swum was July 2015.”
Chris Coker, environmental health officer at South Norfolk Council, told the inquest that the indoor pool at Waveney River Centre could be privately hired.
He said it was L-shaped, 12m (40ft) long, 9m (30ft) at its widest and 1.5m (5ft) at its deepest.
He said signs were up stating there were no lifeguards on duty, that people swim at their own risk and should not do so if they are not a confident swimmer.
The inquest, expected to last two days, continues today.
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