Schoolgirl, 11, who drowned during water park identified as Kyra Hill
‘She was such a sweet girl’: Child, 11, who drowned during water park birthday party is named and pictured – as friends pay tribute to their ‘smart, kind’ classmate
- Kyra Hill, 11, went missing on a Total Wipeout-style assault course on Saturday
- Her disappearance sparked ‘chaos’ at Liquid Leisure, near Datchet, Berkshire
- Around 40 adults dived in as lifeguards asked guests to lend them goggles
- A 12-year-old friend and classmate said: ‘Kyra was so kind. She was really smart’
Friends of the schoolgirl who drowned at a water park paid tribute to their ‘kind’ classmate who ‘liked to make people smile’.
Kyra Hill, 11, went missing during a birthday party on a Total Wipeout-style assault course on Saturday.
She did not return to the changing room, sparking ‘chaos’ as parents and staff started screaming her name across Liquid Leisure near Datchet, Berkshire.
Around 40 adults dived into the lake as lifeguards were forced to ask guests to lend them goggles to search under the inflatables.
Kyra Hill, 11, went missing during a birthday party on a Total Wipeout-style assault course at Liquid Leisure near Windsor, Berkshire, on Saturday
Police outside Liquid Leisure in Windsor earlier today, which was closed to the public with flowers laid outside in tribute to the young girl
Tearful staff lay flowers after girl, 11 dies in ‘tragic incident’ at water park in Berkshire
As many as 40 people, including members of the public, are believed to have dived into the water at Liquid Leisure, near Datchet, Berkshire, in a frantic rescue mission on Saturday
The tragic incident too place at the lake by Liquid Leisure in Windsor
A witness said around 30 to 40 people took part in the frantic 90 minute search for missing Kyra
Staff at the waterpark lay flowers following the death of an 11-year-old girl at the site in Berkshire on Saturday
Flowers have been left at the scene where the 11-year-old girl died on Saturday, following an incident at the water park
Mother whose daughter attended the same water park last year said she raised safety concerns
A mother whose 11-year-old daughter attended the water park last year said she raised safety concerns more than 12-months ago.
She said her daughter fell between two inflatables, with her head stuck in the water as she got wedged by her life jacket, ‘almost a year to the day’.
She told MailOnline: ‘I’m convinced she would have drowned if me and my husband weren’t watching.
‘We brought it to management, who apologised and gave us a voucher to come back.
They said: ‘Sorry about that and we hope you have a better experience next time.’
‘I didn’t really want to return and passed it on to a friend, but I later called them and advised them not to use it because I didn’t think the place was safe.’
Emergency services arrived at 3.55pm but she was not found until 5.10pm and could not be saved.
A 12-year-old friend said: ‘Kyra was so kind.
‘She was really smart, she was at the top of all our classes.
‘She liked to make people smile, she cared about people.’
The classmate played football with keen footballer Kyra, a Manchester United fan, for Coombe Wood School in Croydon.
The mother of one of her other classmates broke down in tears, saying: ‘She was such a sweet girl.’
On social media, a loved one wrote: ‘Your smile and hugs gave me life and you will never be forgotten.’
It is understood the mother of the birthday girl checked with all the parents that their children could swim before inviting them.
Liquid Leisure says it requires everyone to confirm that they are strong swimmers and provides life jackets for inflatables.
It came as Melissa Henson, a mother-of-two, said her own daughter had fallen between inflatables at the park, wedged in by her life jacket and with her head stuck in the water, ‘almost a year to the day’.
She told MailOnline: ‘I’m convinced she would have drowned if me and my husband weren’t watching.
‘We brought it to management, who apologised and gave us a voucher to come back.
‘I was watching the news and thinking: ‘This could have been my daughter.’
Kyra’s death is being treated as unexplained and a police investigation has been launched.
Council had been attempting to ‘shut down’ waterpark over planning row
Earlier this year bosses of the aqua park flagged that they were ‘deeply worried’ that it would have to shut – with 300 jobs at risk – due to a planning row with the council.
According to the Maidenhead Advertiser, Liquid Leisure was served with an enforcement notice in December 2020, requiring the park to remove most of the buildings on the site amid claims they had breached planning rules.
The council say this is because the addition of the water park and its use as a party venue had deviated from its planning permission for water-skiing and windsurfing.
The planning row was set to be subject to a four day inquiry by the planning inspectorate in March this year.
But it was postponed after the inspector, who was due to attend the water park as part of the inquiry, fell ill with Covid.
Stuart Marston, managing director of Liquid Leisure Windsor, said to the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting Service ahead of the hearing that he feared the park could close.
He said: ‘Losing children’s activities that help build confidence in the water with their peers and reducing safe access to water for thousands of residents in the summer months really scares me.
‘With this action from the council, we will no longer be able to train much-needed open water lifeguards in Datchet.’
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