On July 22, a child had to be resuscitated following nearly drowning at the Plopsaqua water park in Hannut.
The park opened a little over a year ago. In October, a man died in hospital days following drowning. The investigation is ongoing but he may have suffered a heart attack. The company Plopsa considers in any case not to be responsible.
She also refutes the idea that Plopsaqua Hannut-Landen would be dangerous. For her, the incident of July 22 illustrates in fact a regular problem: that of children left alone and unsupervised despite the instructions posted everywhere. Steve Van Den Kerkhof, CEO of Plopsa explains: “For me, the park is not at all dangerous when you compare it with other water parks or with the beach. We don’t have more or less incidents. But we regularly have a problem with the parents or group leaders who leave the children alone. And that’s dangerous! It’s dangerous at home and it’s also dangerous at the beach.”
It also specifies with regard to staff: “We have rescuers according to a scenario determined by the number of visitors who are in our building. We have a number of rescuers discussed with the SPW. That means that when we have 500 people in the building, we have, for example, five or six or seven lifeguards. And when we have, for example, 1000 people in the building, we have twice as many lifeguards. But a lifeguard, at home, at the beach or in another swimming pool, is not someone who babysits is someone who helps out when something is going on.”
