Thomas Cook probes death of British boy in Turkey
Thomas Cook is carrying out an investigation into the death of a three-year-old boy who was on holiday with his family at a five-star Turkish resort.
Callum Salmond was rushed to hospital after being found unconscious in one of the five pools at the Voyage Belek resort last Thursday, but he died on Tuesday morning.
He is the second British child to die following an accident in a hotel swimming pool this month.
On May 17, five-year-old Chloe Johnson from south London drowned in the waterpark at the Coral Sea Waterworld hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh during a family holiday booked with First Choice.
Callum was on holiday at the Turkish resort, close to where the ABTA Travel Convention was held last year, with his parents Donna Ness, 31, and father Graeme Salmond, 32, and his nine-month-old brother.
Reports in the Turkish media said he was hauled from the pool by a British doctor who performed CPR at the poolside before paramedics arrived and he was taken to a hospital close to the resort on Turkey’s south coast.
He was later transferred to the regional Anadolu Hospital, but he was declared dead on Tuesday.
The exact circumstances of how the accident happened are not clear and Thomas Cook said its health and safety team was conducting a thorough investigation in collaboration with the relevant authorities.
In a statement, the company said: "Thomas Cook regrets to confirm that one of its customers died on 28 May 2013, following a tragic incident while on holiday at the Voyage Belek Hotel, Belek, Turkey."
Ulrich Sperl from Thomas Cook UK & Ireland said: " We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the friends and family of the deceased at what must be a truly difficult time.
"The welfare of our customers is our top priority, and a health and safety team is conducting a thorough investigation into the incident in collaboration with the relevant authorities.
"Our team in resort continue to offer every support and assistance to the deceased’s loved ones. In the interests of customer confidentiality, we are not at liberty to provide any further details at this time."
The all-inclusive Voyage Belek has five swimming pools, including a shallow children’s pool and a larger water park area with flumes and slides.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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