Father tells of Egypt pool death tragedy

The pool at Sharm el-Sheikh Sharm el-Sheikh where Chloe died

Sarah Thompson and Tony Johnson, parents of Chloe Johnson, said there were no lifeguards at the pool where their daughter drowned, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, and no help on hand to save her life.

The couple described how they had walked around the pool looking for Chloe after returning from buying drinks and snacks. Mr Johnson said he had been the first to start resuscitation efforts after his daughter was discovered at the Coral Sea Waterworld Hotel.

“It was just me at the beginning,” he said. “I had done it all and then other people said there was a nurse.”

He said they were left without a doctor for at least an hour and they had to wait for four hours before officials came to collect their daughter’s body.

Ms Thompson said: “There was no CPR, there was no resuscitation for Chloe, we were just left to our own devices. There was no professional on hand.

“There was no doctor for at least an hour. There was nothing there for her.”

She said of how the tragedy unfolded: “We went to get Chloe and Sadie (her other daughter) some snacks and some drinks…she is 15 and she was there whilst we went off to get the drinks and some food. I came back with the drinks in my hand and walked around the pool twice and we couldn’t find her.”

Ms Thompson said Chloe, who underwent heart surgery aged four, was “very healthy and very happy”.

The couple were speaking after the headteacher of Chloe’s school paid tribute to the little girl, from Forest Hill, south east London, describing her as “artistic and creative, always trying her best”.

Andy Mathieson, head of Kelvin Grove Primary School in Sydenham, said: “The whole school community is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Chloe Johnson and our thoughts and prayers go to her family and friends at this difficult time.

“Chloe was a popular little girl with many friends. She was a real pleasure to teach – she worked hard and was artistic and creative, always trying her best.

“She was well-liked by all the other children and had made many friends at Kelvin Grove. She is a huge loss to our school.”

In an interview, Ms Thompson said she and Mr Johnson had left Chloe by the side of a shallow toddler pool. “She was playing with her little friend. I explained to her twice, called her, told her exactly where we were before we went to get a drink,” she said.

“She went to the wave pool which was supposed to be manned by two lifeguards, but there were none there.”

Travel company First Choice has said it was working to find out what happened.

Ashraf Khalil, general manager of the Coral Sea Waterworld, said on Saturday: “The hotel is waiting to finalise its investigation into what happened together with the official investigation of the Egyptian district attorney and Egyptian police.

“We are also, in collaboration with First Choice, flying in investigators from the UK today.”

About one million tourists from the UK visited Egypt last year.