Girl, 9, drowns when hair gets caught in pool drain
A 9-year-old girl in Brazil drowned at her grandma’s birthday party when her hair got caught into the pool drain, trapping her under water.
Little Mariana dos Anjos Faria was at a resort in west-central Brazil on Feb. 12 to celebrate her grandmother’s 75th birthday when the tragic accident happened, the Mirror reported.
Faria’s family tried to rescue her, but by the time she was pulled from the water, she had stopped breathing — and her hair was still suck in the drain, the site said.
Her father tried to resuscitate her, but eventually she was declared dead at a local hospital, according to the Mirror.
“It is with immense pain in our hearts that we receive the news that our dear student Mariana dos Anjos Faria, from the fifth year, has gone to heaven,” Faria’s school wrote online about her death.
Laise Pegorini Franzen, a 10-year-old in Brazil, died the same way in the southern part of the country in November, according to the Sun.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends keeping children away from pool drains while swimming and making sure drains have compliant covers.
The agency says parents should never allow their child to swim in a pool with loose, broken or missing drain covers. Small children are at risk of not just getting their hair caught in drains, but also their limbs, jewelry or bathing suits.
