Grieving father says 11-year-old daughter ‘was left to drown’ at water park
Father says he feels ‘really, really let down’ after daughter’s death
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The grieving father of an 11 year-old girl who died at a water park has claimed she was “left to drown” by staff.
Kyra Hill died after she went missing from a party at Liquid Leisure near Windsor, Berkshire, on 6 August – twelve days before her 12th birthday.
Emergency services were called at 3.55pm and Kyra was found just after 5.10pm and rushed to Wexham Park Hospital where she died.
Her father Leonard Hill said his family has been “ripped to pieces” by the incident and he is “100 per cent sure Kyra could have been saved” if staff at the water park had “acted sooner and more urgently”.
Appearing on Sky News wearing a memorial t-shirt for Kyra, he said: “I feel really, really let down. I’m so sad that she’s gone, because me and her have an unbreakable bond, we’re that tight.
“They’ve ripped one of my closest people to me in life away from me because they haven’t acted in urgency,” he continued.
Mr Hill previously said Kyra had not been playing on inflatables and was swimming in the nine-by-12 metre pool designated for it.
“I would say she was left to drown, because there’s no way she could have gone down in that same body of water and it’s taken you over 30 minutes to contact the emergency services,” he said.
“She had a chance, but lack of urgency, lack of interest, lack of action is the reason why my daughter is no longer here today.”
“She hasn’t been protected, she hasn’t been safeguarded, she hasn’t been looked after.”
He claims Liquid Leisure had not reached out to his family following the incident, despite repeated attempts by himself and Kyra‘s mother to contact them.
Mr Hill said Kyra’s younger brother “asks about his sister every day” while her sister feels “cut up” to have lost “her best friend”.
He said: “Pain and suffering and sorrow are my key emotions right now.
“I could say so much, she was funny, always making jokes. She was one of my besties ... Losing her is like a massive energy loss.
“I don’t want any other parent to go through this, it’s unfair.”
Liquid Leisure said: “Everyone at Liquid Leisure is heartbroken by the tragic incident on August 6 and our thoughts remain with the family and all those affected.
“We have been working closely with the various authorities to assist the ongoing investigation. As a result, we are limited in what we can say about the incident itself at this stage.
“We can confirm that the incident took place in the designated swimming area of our lake, which always has a fully trained Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) lifeguard on duty.
“Liquid Leisure Windsor has been operating for over 20 years and has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors during that time. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our visitors.
“We want to reiterate our deepest sympathies to the family and all those impacted by this tragedy, and will provide further updates when we can.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments