Inquest into young boy's death in Navan pool

Issues surrounding the condition of the water at Navan Swimming Pool and the number of people using it during a €1 per swim promotion when an eight-year-old Nigerian boy drowned there almost four years ago were explored at an inquest at Trim Courthouse this week.

Isaac Agaba-Adeyefa lost his life on 21st August 2009 during a session at the pool owned by Meath County Council and run on its behalf by the Aura Leisurelink company. 

In evidence the inquest heard that the young boy was lying on the bottom of the pool for five minutes but a garda who viewed CCTV footage said it might have been less than that.

After 49 minutes’ deliberation, a jury decided that death was due to drowning and returned an open verdict. They added recommendations that swimming pools of this sort should come within the remit of the Health and Safety Authority and that the number of lifeguards on duty should be increased when children are using the pool.

In April 2010, gardai sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions following an investigation into the incident and he decided that there should be no prosecution in relation to it.

Francesca Jachimiak, duty manager at the pool, told the inquest that when she came on duty, she spoke to Catherine Lynch, swim co-ordinator, and gathered from the conversation that there had been a problem with the pool that morning.

She found that a pool check had been carried out at 12 noon. They marked the clarity of the water from 1-10 (10 being crystal clear and 1 murky). She had only glanced at the logbook but thought it had been marked it 3 or 4.

When coming on duty, she had noticed the pool was “cloudy”. 

She said there were six qualified lifeguards on deck and one person supervising the slide and felt the cloudiness of the water, the number of bathers in the water and the amount of rippling and splashing were not a cause for concern.

The inquest was also told of desperate measures by staff and arriving paramedics to save the boy’s life.