Girl, 10, drowns in public swimming pool after male lifeguards banned if women present

The girl was at the baths in the village of Dylym in Dagestan, Russia, when she got into trouble in the water. The youngster, who has not been publicly named, drowned for five minutes before being rescued by her dad in the tragic sequence of events in March last year.

Now the manager running the pool has escaped with a £1,000 fine over the girl's death. It's reported that the family had been at the pool that day are were preparing to leave when disaster struck.

The girl's father was heading to the changing rooms when the mother began to scream after the youngster slipped in. She reportedly spent five minutes trying to stay afloat before drowning and sinking to the bottom of the pool while her mother was watching her two siblings.

Her dad got her out of the water and performed resuscitation manoeuvres, and she initially regained consciousness. But she felt unwell and was rushed to hospital. She died in hospital of cerebral oedema and hypoxia as a result of the drowning.

Local media reports said that the girl was not supposed to be in the pool without a lifeguard present. Her parents filed a complaint against the pool owner, named as Musa Patakhov. Because there was no lifeguard present, the authorities opened a criminal investigation.

The Kazbekovsky District Court of Dagestan said: "They are responsible for being constantly present in the pool area to prevent emergencies on the water, monitoring guests' compliance with the rules of conduct in the pool to ensure their safety, providing immediate assistance to people in case of accidents on the water, including first aid."

The court also said: "When families visit the pool, given the Dagestani mentality, there are no swimming instructors in the pool in the presence of female visitors.” But the court has only issued a RUB 130,000 (£1,062) fine against the pool owner. It is unclear if the girl's parents plan to appeal or file a civil suit.