Little boy critical after being pulled from public pool

A little boy is believed to be in a stable condition after being pulled unconscious from a public pool in western Sydney on Sunday.

A young boy was pulled from the water of Liverpool’s Whitlam Leisure Centre on Sunday afternoon. PICTURE: TNV

A pair of heroic bystanders who pulled a five year-old boy from the water of a southwest Sydney pool have described seeing something floating face down in the water before screaming “it’s a baby”, yesterday afternoon.

The boy was discovered unconscious in the water at Liverpool’s Whitlam Leisure Centre just after 12.30pm by friends Ali Ahmadi and Abbas Amiri.

On Monday, the boy is understood to be in a stable condition.

Mr Ahmadi said they had been swimming with his son in the baby section of the leisure centre, before moving outside to the larger pool where they stumbled upon the child.

“We were playing inside the baby section with my son … we (went) outside to swim in the bigger pool, as we walked out I’ve seen a baby on the water, floating,” Mr Ahmadi said.

“I told (Mr Amiri) ‘Is that a toy or a baby?’ and he straightaway jumped in the water, and said ‘It’s a baby’.

A little boy is critical in hospital after being pulled from the water at Liverpool’s Whitlam Centre. PICTURE: TNV

“I ran outside to ask the lifeguards for help, we took him out and everyone came around us.”

Mr Amiri, a nurse visiting Australia from Sweden, said the little boy first appeared lifeless.

“He was face down, I brang him up … I tried to help him,” he said.

Ali Ahmadi spotted the boy and called for help. PICTURE: TNV

Abbas Amiri jumped into the water to save the boy. PICTURE: TNV

“There was nothing, around his face was black at the time … as soon as I came out of the water (with the boy) too many persons rushed forward to help the kid, they pushed me back so they could help him, but I was happy to help him.”

Lifeguards began CPR as police and paramedics rushed to the scene, where several ambulance crews worked to stabilise the boy in the car park of the aquatic centre.

The screams of distraught family members’ were heard at the scene, with one woman seen being consoled by paramedics as others huddled arm in arm next to the ambulance.

A short while later, the boy was loaded into the vehicle on a stretcher and taken to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in a critical condition.

The boy was taken to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. PICTURE: TNV

The busy Whitlam Leisure Centre was quickly evacuated and closed following the incident, with an evacuation alarm sounding as dozens of families left the building.

“They told everyone to hop out, we all went inside and (staff) told everyone to leave,” one swimmer said.

Mr Ahmadi said he was “happy” he and Mr Amiri had been able to help the child.

“I feel very happy, happy the kid will be healthy and safe, that’s all. I’m happy he’s alive,” he said.

Police briefly taped off the area but left the scene in the hours following.

Belgravia Leisure, which operates Whitlam Leisure Centre, was contacted for comment.

Temperatures hit 33C in parts of western Sydney yesterday, beaches and swimming spots across the harbour city awash with swimmers trying to beat the spring heat.

Originally published as Little boy critical after being pulled from public pool