British toddler drowns in Spanish swimming pool

A British toddler has drowned in a swimming pool on Spain’s Costa Blanca.

Freddie Joseph Briggs, just 19 months old, was pulled unconscious from the water around 6.15pm on Wednesday (May 25).

An ambulance was dispatched to the incident at a private pool in Aigues, a small village north of Alicante and southwest of Benidorm, as a neighbor tried to save the tot’s life.

Efforts to revive Freddie were tragically unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A spokesman for a regional government emergency response coordination center said: “At 6.15pm on Wednesday we were informed that a young boy had been pulled from a private swimming pool in Aigues.

“We mobilized an air ambulance and a simple ambulance. A neighbor performed resuscitation techniques until emergency medical teams arrived.

“Once there, medical responders continued advanced CPR and other resuscitation techniques but were unable to save the child, a 19-month-old infant who was pronounced dead at the scene.”

The incident happened in a private housing development called El Paraiso in Aigues and the village has just under 1,000 inhabitants according to a 2020 census.

Aigues Town Hall said on Thursday (May 26): “The news of yesterday’s death of little boy Freddie Joseph Briggs has saddened and moved the residents of Aigues.

“As a sign of our pain and solidarity with the child’s parents and other loved ones, we are declaring three days of mourning starting tomorrow.”

Whether the toddler was on vacation with his family or lived in Spain has not yet been clarified.

A routine police investigation into the tragedy is underway.

A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office added: “We are supporting the family of a British child who has died in Spain. Our thoughts are with the family at this very sad time.”

Freddie’s death comes after a British woman, Ingrid Dale, 67, originally from Norfolk, died after suffering an allergic reaction to a wasp sting at a restaurant on May 9 in the seaside town of Moraira, about 30 minutes north of Benidorm.

Ms Dale died in an ambulance outside the Hill Top Sports Bar & Grill after suffering cardiac arrest before she could be taken to hospital.

On the same day, a Briton, Paul Lebihan, 24, originally from Gateshead, drowned in a river in a pretty spot near Benidorm while trying to save his dog.