Bereaved Family: "We Were Not Informed of Safety Guidelines or Precautions... No One Could Perform CPR"
Cafe Staff: "As a Fire Science Major, I Performed CPR... Bereaved Family Is Not Responding to Contact"
On the 30th of last month, an employee of the cafe where the water accident occurred revealed a placard with safety rules posted by the swimming pool. Photo by Online Community BobaeDream capture.
On the 30th of last month, a petition was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board claiming that a 6-year-old child died at a swimming pool cafe due to the lack of warnings about potential dangers. Photo by Blue House National Petition Capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] A tragic accident occurred at a water play cafe in Gyeonggi-do where a 6-year-old child died, and the bereaved family and the cafe are engaged in a dispute over responsibility.
On the 30th of last month, a post titled "A 6-year-old child lost their precious life unjustly at a swimming pool cafe. Please help" was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition board.
The petitioner, Mr. A, explained, "On September 12th, a 6-year-old child lost their precious life at a swimming pool cafe. The child's arm got caught in a drain, and they could not get out of the water, leaving this beautiful child to heaven. It was truly a heartbreaking and absurd incident."
Mr. A continued, "After many difficulties, just before the ambulance arrived, the child was pulled out of the water, but there was no rescue personnel capable of performing artificial respiration from the water, nor was there anyone who could properly perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) even after the child was out of the water."
Mr. A claimed that the cafe bears significant responsibility for the child's death, citing the lack of prior warnings about the danger, absence of surveillance closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring the hazardous facility, and no safety staff assigned.
He added, "Even now, as the parents who lost their child are experiencing hell, the swimming pool cafe continues to operate openly. They are only focused on covering their own shortcomings. They are using the absence of CCTV to their advantage, claiming they only informed us about the best spot upon arrival, mentioned safety precautions, that the child opened the drain cover, and that CPR was performed."
As the controversy grew, Mr. B, who identified himself as a male employee of the cafe where the accident occurred, refuted the bereaved family's claims through an online community on the same day.
Mr. B said, "As far as I know, our cafe's swimming pool is not legally required to have safety personnel assigned. However, when help was requested, I, who graduated from military education and the fire department department and completed training and certification from institutions such as the Korean Red Cross, performed CPR."
Regarding the bereaved family's claim that artificial respiration was not performed, Mr. B explained, "At that time, the child's stomach was swollen like a mountain from swallowing a lot of water, and during CPR, vomit consisting of water and food the child had eaten was coming up. In such a situation, artificial respiration would only cause the vomit to enter the body again, potentially blocking the airway or entering the lungs, which could lead to death."
Mr. B also stated, "Saying that the child was barely rescued just before the ambulance arrived is too much. I heard from the police that the child was still breathing but later died. I do not understand blaming CPR for this."
He added, "Currently, the child's parents are refusing to provide contact information and, even when trying to reach out through the phone number of the mother who made the reservation as a representative, they respond by saying to talk through the police and then stop responding. They are appealing on various cafes, blogs, petitions, and communities, calling us trash for not attending the child's funeral. Even when the cafe owner tries to contact them, they block and ignore, so we spent the night in front of the hospital. At first, I felt sorrow, but seeing the posts now only makes me angry," expressing his frustration.
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