Boy drowned at indoor pool after being separated from parents, inquest told

A five-year-old boy drowned in a holiday park swimming pool after becoming separated from his parents, an inquest has heard.

Robin Caliskan, from Plymouth, died in July last year while on a family holiday in Cornwall.

He was found face down at the bottom of the pool at Atlantic Reach Holiday Park, near Newquay, by members of the public.

The family had only arrived at the holiday park around an hour before Robin's death, with the five-year-old excitedly helping to pitch up their tent.

An inquest hearing in Truro has heard his parents then took Robin and his younger brother, who was six months old at the time, for a swim at the centre’s indoor pool.

Speaking through an interpreter, Robin’s father, Cemal Caliskan, an electrical engineer originally from Turkey, said: “I looked at the big pool at first, it was very crowded, there were adults and lots of children, when I saw the children swimming I thought: ‘Fine,’ so me and Robin headed to the big pool.”

He said after about 10 minutes, he and Robin went to the baby pool where they joined his wife and other son and they took a family photo together.

Mr Caliskan continued: “I took our little boy from my wife, I decided to look after him for a bit and I said to my wife: ‘If you want to go to the big pool, you can’ and she decided to go in the big pool.

“Robin was just playing there, my wife was heading to the big pool and Robin said: ‘Can I go please?’ He wanted to go with my wife, his mum, and I said: ‘OK, but you need to stay with your mum, go with your mum.’

“Then he followed my wife. It was so crowded in the big pool I can’t be 100% sure if Robin was following my wife or beside her.

“I could just see my wife and there was a child next to my wife and I thought that was Robin.”

He added: “I was sure he was with her.”

Mr Caliskan said that after a while, his wife came back and they then realised that Robin wasn’t there.

He added: “We noticed that people had taken someone out of the pool and they all gathered at one location and we decided to go there as well. When I arrived there I saw two people trying to give treatment to Robin.”

The inquest was shown photos of signs put up at the pool including sets of rules posted in the men’s and women’s changing rooms which stated: “No lifeguard on duty”, with a further sign stating the rule at the poolside.

Mr Caliskan said he had not seen the signs and added that he had seen photos on Facebook which showed lifeguards at the pool, and he had seen someone in a “red and yellow outfit” at the pool.

He added: “I didn’t see signs about lifeguards, if I did see that I would definitely go back to reception and say: ‘I thought you had lifeguards?’ and ask them questions.’”

In a statement, paediatric consultant Samantha Holden said that a post-mortem examination gave a cause of death of drowning.

The hearing continues.