Toddler dies after ‘slipping’ from dad’s arms on water slide
A 21-month-old girl has died after "slipping" from her father's arm while going down a water slide.
The toddler from Germany passed away in an accident while in a water park with her father in Lopar, Croatia, after she reportedly fell from a height of nearly four meters (about 13 feet) onto a concrete floor.
According to multiple reports by international outlets, including The New York Post and The Independent, witnesses on the scene on July 22 said they heard the father "crying and shouting, 'Don’t ask me anything, my daughter is dying!' while holding the toddler, who was unresponsive at the time.
"The waiter had just brought me coffee. When we heard crying and shouting, we thought the child had drowned,” a witness told local media.
A doctor who was nearby responded and performed CPR to revive the child.
The girl was later rushed to the hospital by helicopter, where the doctors found she suffered serious brain trauma and internal injuries. She was pronounced dead the morning after the incident.
Lopar's mayor Zdenko Jakuc, said that the public is "extremely shaken" following the freak accident. “It is an understatement to say that we are all extremely shaken. When the helicopter landed, everything stopped. We all looked at the sky and hoped for the best,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Lopar tourist board said: "This park has been operating for years, [and] nothing like this has ever been recorded. Lopar is a place that is perceived as safe, peaceful, and ideal for families with small children."
It remains unclear whether the slide the girl was on was appropriate for a child of her age or if proper safety measures were observed.
The authorities are investigating the incident to establish the cause of death.
