Boy, 11, drowns in China after getting partially sucked into swimming pool's drain

An 11-year-old boy in China's Hebei Province drowned at a sports centre after being partially sucked into the circulating drain outlet in the pool's shallow water area.

The incident occurred at about 4:50pm on Jul. 6, 2026, and the boy was accompanied by his mother.

Struggled underwater

According to 163.com, the boy was sucked into the side wall water pump's circulating drain outlet in the shallow water area of ​​the swimming pool.

He was reportedly unable to break free, causing his left arm and shoulder joint to be completely sucked in, and his head pulled underwater.

This made it impossible for him to breathe, thepaper.cn reported, adding that he then struggled underwater for about three to five minutes.

The drain outlet that sucked him in was 15cm wide and was located about 80cm below the water's surface, according to 163.com.

There were reportedly no lifeguards on site, with only one female staff member who was allegedly looking at her phone and not paying attention to the pool's surface.

Unable to rescue boy

About three minutes after the boy began drowning, another child in the same pool noticed and ran to inform those in the waiting area, thepaper.cn reported.

At 4:56pm, the boy's mother and a swimming coach rushed to the pool, where the coach jumped in to attempt a rescue.

However, due to the suction force of the pool's drainage outlet, three adults were unable to remove the boy's arm from the outlet.

The coach then rushed to the electrical room and pulled the emergency switch to cut off the power.

They managed to remove the boy's arm from the circulating drain pipe and lift him out of the pool.

However, his face was bluish-purple with no breathing or vital signs, thepaper.cn reported.

Sent to hospital, died

The boy was given first aid and sent to the hospital, where he arrived about 20 minutes after drowning.

Despite about an hour of intensive resuscitation efforts, the boy was declared dead.

Following the boy's death, his father reported the incident to the police.

Investigation as a major accident due to negligence

According to thepaper.cn, personnel from the Emergency Management Bureau and the Education and Sports Bureau conducted an investigation at the location on the afternoon of Jul. 8.

This reportedly took place after multiple complaints from the family.

On Jul. 10, the family was told to return to the accident site at 8:30am, where the Gaobeidian Municipal Emergency Management Bureau, along with safety experts, conducted an on-site investigation.

Though the family requested a report as soon as possible, they were allegedly told it would be issued within 60 days.

On Jul. 14, the police opened a case for investigation as a major accident due to negligence, 163.com reported.

The pool has since been closed, with the police and emergency management departments investigating.