Police examine a city-run pool in Fujimino, Saitama Prefecture, on Aug. 1, where a 7-year-old girl died July 31.

Erika Tomaru was sucked into the intake head first at around 1:40 p.m., about 10 minutes after an elementary school third-grader found that the 60-sq.-cm grille had come off in the water and handed it to a lifeguard nearby.

The lifeguard placed the grille outside of the pool and contacted a senior lifeguard via radio transmission. Another lifeguard came to the site and called on swimmers not to go near the intake.

A lifeguard who saw Tomaru being sucked into the intake pipe said, "The girl was under the water so she probably couldn't hear calls not to go near" the pipe.

Police suspect she was trying to approach a friend who was nearby.

The Saitama Prefectural Police are investigating the accident on suspicion of professional negligence -- on the part of the city and the company commissioned to oversee the facility -- resulting in death.

The pool, which is circular and has a current that pulls swimmers around in a loop, is popular with children.

Neither the city nor the company had any guidelines on how to prevent accidents.

The lifeguards warned swimmers, but they did not ask swimmers to leave the pool.

It took about six hours until rescue workers were able to reach Tomaru's body and pull it free.

The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 5, 2006
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