Child found floating face-down at Kaitaia pool revived

The main pool at Kaitaia's public baths.

The quick response of a lifeguard has been credited with potentially saving the life of a child, believed to be a 3-year-old girl, who was found floating face-down in the main pool at Kaitaia's public baths on Sunday.

Cliff Colquhoun, general manager of Kaitaia's Community Business and Environment Centre, which has run the complex for the past 27 years, said it had been the venue of a day-long private function.

By 4pm people were leaving, and with only 10 people still in the water just one lifeguard remained on duty.

The requirement is one lifeguard per 35 swimmers, and two or three had been on duty earlier.

The child, supervised by her parents, had been in the children's paddling pool all day, Mr Colquhoun said, but neither she nor her parents were there when the lifeguard returned from briefly checking the toilets/changing rooms.

By that time the young girl was face-down in the main pool. The lifeguard removed her from the water, the child's parents beginning CPR but the lifeguard taking over.

"She got the child breathing again," Mr Colquhoun added.

Two St John ambulances responded to the medical alarm, further treating her at the scene then delivering her to Kaitaia Hospital.

"It was a terrible situation but everyone did all the right things," Mr Colquhoun said.

"You can do all the training in the world, and our staff do train for every conceivable situation, but it's awful when something like this happens. Everyone did exactly what they should have done though."

There would be a comprehensive debriefing, he added.