Girl, 10, hit by debris from 11th storey while swimming at Queenstown condo

A 10-year-old girl attending a swimming lesson at a pool on the seventh floor of a Queenstown condominium on Feb. 16 was hit on the head by falling debris from an 11th floor balcony.

After the injured girl's parents called the police, a couple came down to apologise as their two-year-old son had thrown pebbles from their balcony.

Debris fell from 11th storey during swimming lesson

The incident took place at Queen's Peak condominium, located next to Queenstown MRT station, at 11:25am.

SCDF told Mothership that they received a call for assistance at 1 Dundee Road at about 11:40am.

SCDF assessed one person for minor injuries but the person declined to be sent to the hospital.

The girl's mother, surnamed Zhuang (transliteration), told Shin Min Daily News that her daughter was attending swimming lessons at the pool in a group with two other children.

At least 10 people were taking swimming lessons at the time, while parents sat at a rest area nearby.

During the lesson, Zhuang said she heard a loud noise as an unknown object fell from above, scaring everyone.

"The children didn't react at first, but more objects started falling, so those of us beside the pool started yelling and waving for them to move away," said Zhuang.

Injured on forehead

As Zhuang's daughter left the pool, she was seen clutching her forehead.

Zhuang later realised the objects were black pebbles that were about 7cm in diameter.

Some of them had fallen into the water while others hit the edge of the pool.

Zhuang and other parents glanced up to see a man in a red shirt looking down at them from an 11th storey balcony, before going back inside.

Zhuang's daughter later told her mother that her forehead was hurting.

That was when Zhuang saw some swelling and scratches above her left eye.

Police and ambulance called

Immediately, her husband notified condominium security and also called the police.

Zhuang said the ambulance arrived quickly and medical personnel treated her daughter's injuries, which she suspected were caused by falling debris.

They told Zhuang that it was a superficial injury, and noted that the girl was not dizzy or vomiting from the incident.

Zhuang and her husband opted to keep her under observation, instead of sending her to the hospital.

After police arrived to investigate the incident, they told Zhuang that the pebbles had been thrown by a two-year-old boy from the 11th storey.

They also advised the boy's parents to clear the pebbles from their balcony for safety purposes, Zhuang said.

Parents of boy apologised

Subsequently, the boy's parents, holding him in their arms, came down to apologise to Zhuang.

The couple told Zhuang that they were busy at the time, so they had hired a babysitter.

However, when no one was looking, the boy ran to the balcony and threw some pebbles down, they said.

Zhuang opined that as the boy was young, it was his parents' responsibility to supervise and educate him on do's and don'ts.

She hoped that this incident would serve as a lesson for families with young children, and hoped they would remove items like pots and small toys from their balconies.

"My daughter was only hit by debris this time. If it was an entire pebble that hit her head or face, she could have been seriously injured," said Zhuang.

Zhuang added that the boy's father was the one looking down at them from the 11th storey balcony, but he didn't come down to check if anyone was injured.

"If he had come down urgently to settle the matter with us, perhaps we wouldn't have had to call the police," she said.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News