Teenager drowns, toddler fights for life in separate sea incidents

Updated 3.31pm

A teenager died after drowning while a toddler was in danger of dying after being found unconscious in the sea in two separate incidents on Saturday.

Police said a 15-year-old Pakistani boy, who lives in Xgħajra, was found face down and unconscious in the water near the locality's slipway at around 4.45pm.

The boy has been identified as Nadab John, who recently became an altar boy at Ta' Ġieżu church in Valletta.

Former General Workers' Union official Jeremy Camilleri was the first to spot the boy floating face down in the water and raised the alarm as several other people swam nearby, apparently unaware of what had happened.

Camilleri said two women immediately pulled the boy from the water and administered CPR for several minutes.

The teenager was taken to Mater Dei Hospital, where he later died.

In a separate incident, a toddler was in critical condition after she ran into the sea in Marsaxlokk.

The incident happened at around 10.30pm at Xatt is-Sajjieda, also known as Bajja tal-Magħluq.

Eyewitnesses told Times of Malta the girl, who is one year and seven months old, wandered into the sea after two men before she was found floating unconscious in the water.

The police said the girl swallowed some water and struggled to breathe. 

The girl, a foreign national who lives in Żabbar, regained consciousness after she was pulled from the water and given CPR by her relatives.

She was taken to Mater Dei Hospital, where she was found to be in a critical condition.

Magistrate Monica Borg Galea was informed of both cases and has appointed inquiries.

Police investigations are ongoing.

'Adults were not distracted' - girl's aunt

The toddler’s aunt told TVM that two couples and two children had been having a barbecue at Magħluq Bay, with a playpen set up for the children to sleep in. She said the girl had been asleep when her mother went to breastfeed her other child, but the adults soon realised she was no longer in the playpen and began searching for her.

The aunt said she spotted the child in the sea, entered the water and administered CPR until a medical team from Mater Dei Hospital arrived and took over. She stressed that the adults had not been distracted by their phones, smoking or conversation, saying the incident unfolded within minutes. She thanked people at the bay who helped and said the child was in a stable condition.

'More awareness neeeded'

Jeremy Camilleri, one of the people who spotted the unconscious teenager in the sea in Xgħajra on Saturday afternoon, has urged the public to learn basic first aid and CPR so they can respond in emergencies.

In a Facebook post, Camilleri said he was with his partner and a friend when they noticed the boy floating face down in the water, apparently motionless.

He said that although other people were swimming nearby, no one appeared to realise he was in distress.

Camilleri said he went to check on him and was preparing to jump into the sea fully clothed when a woman swam over and brought him to shore.

He then called the emergency services. According to Camilleri, when police arrived, they appeared unsure how to respond.

"I don't want to judge, but unfortunately the police had the same reaction as many others, just staring at him, as if they did not know what to do," he wrote.

He said his purpose in sharing the video was to highlight the importance of first-aid training.

"I have no idea how to do CPR. I attended a course years ago, but now I wouldn't know what to do. All I did was call the ambulance," he said.

"I call on the authorities to organise first-aid awareness courses because, in those moments, you don't know what to do. We need awareness so we can save lives."

In a statement on Sunday, Momentum proposed a national first aid campaign should be launched and first aid should be mandatory in secondary schools.