British girl 'drowns' in Tenerife hotel pool 'after lifeguard clocked off'

A six year old British girl narrowly escaped drowning at a hotel pool in Tenerife after the lifeguard had reportedly finished his shift, as per reports.

The incident, which is now under investigation by local police, occurred at the Granada Park Aparthotel pool in Los Cristianos, on Tenerife's southwest coast, around 6.50pm on May 9. Rescuers are said to have performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the girl immediately after she was retrieved from the water.

Two local police motorcyclists and two patrol cars, who were in the vicinity, were the first to reach the scene, reports the Mirror. Spanish police are currently trying to ascertain the exact location of the child's parents at the time of the incident, as well as the whereabouts of the lifeguard assigned to the Granada Park Aparthotel pool. It has been alleged the lifeguard ended his shift at 6pm, approximately 50 minutes before the young girl was discovered in the water.

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Upon arrival of the emergency services, the girl was reportedly conscious but extremely frightened. The police, accompanied by paramedics, arrived shortly after and transported the girl to a medical centre.

She was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia, a condition caused by inhaling liquid into the respiratory tract or lungs, according to Canarian Weekly. Medical staff managed to stabilise her condition and she has since been transferred to the children's emergency department at Nuestra Senora de Candelaria University Hospital.

The Canary Islands have seen a surge in visitors from the UK and beyond this year, sparking local unrest. Graffiti messages telling tourists to 'go home' have become more common. In April, an estimated 50,000 residents protested across Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura, voicing their frustrations with slogans like 'The Canary Islands have a limit'.

Social media was abuzz with footage of protestors chanting "si vivimos del turismo por que no somos ricos? " ("If we are living from tourism then why are we not rich? "). Adding to the tension, the islands' deputy mayor Carlos Tarife has made a plea for Brits to consider holidaying elsewhere, suggesting destinations like the Dominican Republic for all-inclusive stays, in a bid to encourage tourists to venture out of their hotels.