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A two-year-old baby died this Saturday drowned in the pool of the house where he lived with his family in the town of Joane, in Famalicão. According to JN, the boy was found by his mother in the pool, and was already in cardiorespiratory arrest.
Gonçalo fell into the pool that the family has in the garden of the farm where his parents and grandparents live, and was found a few minutes after 12:30. When the mother found the baby, it would no longer show vital signs.
According to a GNR source, the victim, who turned two this week, was taken out of the pool by his parents, who immediately called for help, who upon arriving at the scene found little Gonçalo in cardiorespiratory arrest.
Firefighters and professionals from the INEM began resuscitation maneuvers, but without success. Death was declared on the spot. According to the information that the JN was able to gather, the rescuers spent approximately an hour and a half performing resuscitation maneuvers.
The tragedy occurred on the day of the baby’s great-grandfather’s funeral, and when they found him in the pool, his grandparents were coming home after the funeral ceremony. The cries of desperation from the family alerted the neighbors whose dismay at what had happened was evident in the town. Gonçalo has a sister who is just over a month old.
The INEM psychologists were at the family home all afternoon. The GNR remained in place until around 5.30 pm, when Gonçalo’s body was transferred to the Famalicão hospital morgue by Famalicenses firefighters. The autopsy will take place on Monday.
More than 250 children murdered since 2002
The circumstances in which the tragedy occurred must be clarified by the authorities, as is usual in cases of this type. And there are many. Between 2002 and 2018, 254 children drowned, said the Association for the Promotion of Child Safety (APSI).
The average number of deaths per year between 2005 and 2010 was 16.5 deaths. Between 2011 and 2018, it fell to 9.3. In other words, the number of deaths is decreasing. Still, in 2019, APSI sent an open letter to all party leaders defending the legal obligation to protect all swimming pools, including domestic ones, as a way to increase safety and reduce the number of child drowning victims. .
In Portugal, fences and protections for access to swimming pools “are voluntary and have not proven to be sufficient”, defends APSI.
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