The first suspects in the investigation file opened for manslaughter by the Tivoli prosecutor's office in relation to the death of Stephan , the 8-year-old boy who died yesterday afternoon at the Cretone spa in Palombara Sabina, a center in the province of Rome, will arrive shortly.
The little one was sucked into the drain of one of the three swimming pools of the structure while the cleaning and emptying operations were in progress.
The thermal plant was seized by the judiciary and the prosecutor in charge of the investigation carried out an inspection together with the carabinieri, who were entrusted with the investigations, and the staff of the ASL.
The objective of the investigators is to ascertain the dynamics of what happened shortly after 18.30 on 17 August .
The investigation aims to shed light primarily on any shortcomings in the implementation of safety standards within the structure which is located about 30 km from Rome.
The child's body , recovered by divers from the Rome fire brigade unit after a complex activity that lasted about two hours, was placed at the disposal of the judicial authority which will entrust the task of carrying out the autopsy. The expert activity will be carried out by the Institute of forensic medicine of the Umberto I polyclinic.
THE RECONSTRUCTION - In the meantime, the investigators are lining up the various pieces collected in these hours , also listening to a series of witnesses - starting from the family of the little one who cannot rest and who are now wondering how it was possible to die in that way - and acquiring footage from the security cameras inside the spa. At the moment it is not clear if the boy, who lived with his family in Monterotondo, was in the tub when the emptying began or if he inadvertently fell into the pool .
According to what has been ascertained, his little sister was also present with him who would not have noticed what had happened . The turbine dragged him under water: the child would have been taken down by the violent vortex of the filler for emptying. Stephan, within seconds, was sucked into the exhaust pipes and drowned to death.
Attempts by those present to save his life were useless .
The security systems are under the scrutiny of the investigators: the swimming pool that was the scene of the tragedy would in fact have been devoid of a safety grate that blocks access to the drain . An element that could be decisive in ascertaining responsibility.
On this point, answers will come from the owner of the structure who will have to provide useful elements for the investigations also on the tasks entrusted to the lifeguards inside the structure and in general to the security personnel in accessing the pools.
(Unioneonline/vl)
