Pakenham 11-month-old Jugad Singh Bath drowns after falling into fish tank
A Pakenham couple is dealing with an unimaginable loss after their young son tragically drowned after falling into a fish tank in their backyard.
South East
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Parents are being warned about how quickly a drowning tragedy can occur at home, after a Pakenham toddler died after falling into a fish tank just before Christmas.
Jugad Singh Bath, 11 months, tragically drowned after falling into an outdoor in-ground fish tank in the backyard of his Pakenham home when momentarily out of sight from his family in the week before Christmas.
Waris Hamdard, a colleague of Jugad’s father Jagwant Singh, said despite the young boy being rushed to hospital, he died several days later after suffering brain damage.
Mr Hamdard said on the day of the accident, Mr Singh had returned home from work and together with another family member, realised Jugad had slipped outside.
A video camera later revealed vision which showed the moment the toddler fell head first into the small tank.
While Mr Hamdard didn’t have all the details about how the accident occurred, he said there was only a small amount of water in the tank, which the little boy could have stood up in, but as he went in head first he was unable to get out.
“It is absolutely tragic,” he said.
The little boy spent seven days in hospital before he sadly died.
Mr Hamdard said it was a warning to other parents about how quickly a drowning tragedy could occur.
He said Mr Singh and his wife, who works as a nurse, were understandably devastated over the loss of their only child.
The couple are on student visas and moved to Australia from India a couple of years ago.
Mr Hamdard has started a GoFundMe page to support the couple with their substantial medical costs.
Jugad’s death comes after the latest Life Saving Victoria annual report revealed water-related deaths increased in every age group compared to the 10-year average, with the exception of children under 14.
Drownings in bathtubs, pools, dams and ponds have doubled over the past decade.
This includes nine bathtub deaths in 2022-2023 – almost three times the decade average.
Meanwhile, Victorian females are drowning at an alarming rate, with the new figures revealing a 50 per cent spike in deaths.
At the time the report was released, Life Saving Victoria chief executive Catherine Greaves said while men continued to be over-represented in the statistics — accounting for two- thirds of drownings over that period — it was “concerning” to see an upswing in the number of women losing their lives.
“The fatal drowning rate for women now stands 50 per cent higher than the decade’s average,” she said.
