Girl, 11, dies after hair gets caught in swimming pool’s drain during family holiday in Italy

AN eleven-year-old girl has died after her hair got caught in a swimming pool drain. The young girl, named Alice, was on a family holiday in the beach town of Sestri Levante, Italy when tragedy struck. Alice was pronounced dead in hospital after getting her hair stuck in a pool drain (stock image) Credit: Alamy She was on a family holiday in the beach town of Sestri Levante, Italy Credit: Getty She had travelled south from Milan for a sunny getaway with her mum. The duo were at the same beach resort on the tourist town’s Descalzo promenade that they had stayed at several years in a row. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The horror incident happened in the indoor pool, where the water is cooler than the sea. But despite the shallow water, her hair got stuck in the pool’s drain. The force dragged Alice under water and was trapped. Onlookers desperately tried to pull her out but struggled to disentangle her hair from the drain. An ambulance rushed to the scene and paramedics attempted CPR. She was taken by helicopter to hospital in nearby Genoa and put in intensive care in critical condition. Most read in The Sun Tragically, she was pronounced dead in hospital. Police are investigating the death and attended the scene. Investigators are considering if swimming caps should be mandatory to swim in the shallow pool. Alice is the fifth child to die in an Italian pool in just three months as experts warn of “death trap” drains. Italian Minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci said: “Strict discipline is needed, but also greater caution is needed in never leaving children alone in the water. “The Meloni government’s bill, aimed at this goal, will be approved by the relevant committee within the month, and we will do everything possible to schedule it urgently.” In April, Gabriele Petrucci, seven, was celebrating his birthday when he was found unresponsive in the water. The boy “fought like a lion” after getting trapped in a hotel swimming pool’s suction duct at a wellness retreat in Castelforte. His dad dived in to try desperately to save him but Gabriele sadly died.