A four-year-old British lad was left frantically trying to escape after his arm was sucked into the cleaning system of a hotel swimming pool in Majorca.
Onlookers were horrified as the youngster suddenly became trapped after inserting his arm into the pool’s suction hole, which was not covered.
The vacuum effect from the hole ensnared him up to his elbow, prompting staff at the Hotel Zafiro in Can Picafort, a resort in the north of the island, to summon emergency services.
Paramedics were first on the scene but were unable to free the boy, forcing Spanish firefighters to drain the pool and then used a pneumatic drill to access a pipe leading to the hole.
The lad was given a helmet and ear protectors as they drilled down, before they eventually severed the pipe around 30 minutes later and freed the boy.
Images from the scene show the boy in an orange cap waiting patiently as emergency workers strive to extricate him.
Police and members of the Spanish Guardia Civil were also present, reports the Mirror. The boy was transported to a local clinic but fortunately did not sustain any serious injuries.
Police later interrogated the hotel’s lifeguards, and one confessed that he had already reported issues with the suction system to the resort’s management team.
Hotel management under scrutiny for botched DIY fix amid an ongoing investigation, local sources revealed. Majorca was mired in travel turmoil after inclement weather left scores of Britons in lurch.
Following the half-term holidays in Spain, British families returning from Majorca faced flight delays due to air traffic constraints. Although airlines expressed their inability to offer full compensation over disruptions outside their hands.
An easyJet representative declared: “Unfortunately, due to the impact of widespread thunderstorms across Northern Europe yesterday, some flights were unable to operate as planned.”
The spokesperson added: “We did all we could to minimise the impact of the weather disruption on our customers, providing options to rebook or a refund their flights as well as providing hotel accommodation and meals for these who required them.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused.”