Preschool child in critical condition after dramatic rescue from Auckland pool

A young child was hospitalised in a critical condition after being rescued from a public pool in the central Auckland suburb of Mt Albert this afternoon.

Auckland Council’s Principal Pools and Leisure Specialist Garth Dawson said that at around 4pm, a lifeguard at the Mt Albert Aquatic Centre performed a successful rescue and resuscitation procedure after seeing him in distress in the water.

“The boy, approximately three-years-old, was taken to hospital by ambulance,” he said.

“Our thoughts are with the child and their family – we wish them a full and speedy recovery.

“Belgravia Leisure operates this centre on behalf of Auckland Council and will be investigating. I’d like to thank Belgravia staff for navigating this incident with such a high degree of proficiency and expertise.”

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A police spokesperson said they were notified of a water incident around 4.15pm involving one person at the pool on Alberton Ave.

“One person is in a critical condition and is being taken to hospital.”

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said they received a call at 4:08pm and sent two ambulances, one rapid response unit and one manager.

“We have transported one person in a critical condition through to Auckland City Hospital.”

A post on the pool’s Facebook page said “Due to a medical event, the pools are closed (lane pool and wave pool) and will reopen tomorrow at 7am.”