Boy, 5, drowned in Cornwall holiday park pool hours after family pitched up tent

Robin Van Caliskan died at Atlantic Reach's Newquay resort after getting into difficulty in the swimming pool hours after his family pitched up their tent at the site at White Cross just outside the seaside town

A young boy tragically drowned at a holiday park swimming pool, chosen by his parents for its perceived safety, an inquest has heard. Robin Van Caliskan sadly lost his life at Atlantic Reach's Newquay resort after encountering difficulties in the pool just hours after his family had set up their tent at the White Cross site, located just outside the coastal town.

The inquest into the five year old's untimely death revealed that Cemal and Ferzane Caliskan, along with their two children - Robin and six-month-old Renas - had planned a three-night getaway in Cornwall. Originally from Turkey, the family was living in the Plymouth area at the time of the incident. They arrived at the holiday park at 2pm on August 31 last year, during the summer holidays, and decided to take a swim in the pool after setting up their tent.

On the first day of a two-day jury inquest in Truro today, it was disclosed that the Caliskans visited the pool around 4.45pm after booking a slot with reception. Although Robin had taken swimming lessons, he was not a skilled swimmer. He initially entered the adult pool with his father while his younger brother joined his mother in the baby pool. The two pools are separated by frosted glass which hinders visibility, reports Cornwall Live.

After approximately 10 minutes, Robin and his father joined Ferzane and Renas in the baby pool before he returned to the larger pool with his mother. Cemal, Robin's father, expressed uncertainty over whether his wife knew that Robin was with her.

Speaking through an interpreter at the inquest, he recounted the harrowing moments: "It was so crowded in the big pool. I can't be 100 per cent sure that Robin was behind her. There was a child near her and I thought it was Robin."

He further explained the confusion caused by the pool's design: "The frosted glass gave a false belief that I was looking at my son when I wasn't."

Tragedy struck when Robin's mother exited the unguarded main pool to return to the baby pool, only to discover that five year old Robin was not with her. The young boy was subsequently discovered unconscious at the bottom of the pool.

Bystanders quickly retrieved him and commenced CPR. Mr Caliskan described the frantic scene: "We saw a group of people pulling someone out of the pool. We went to see and we saw two people giving treatment to Robin."

Despite the efforts of paramedics who attempted resuscitation for half an hour, Robin was tragically pronounced dead. The postmortem confirmed drowning as the medical cause of death.

During the inquest, Mr Caliskan expressed that they had selected Atlantic Reach holiday park for its seemingly safe pool facilities after conducting online research. He noted that promotional images on the Atlantic Reach website and Facebook depicted lifeguards, leading the family to believe they would be present. However, he pointed out that there was no clear communication from Atlantic Reach regarding the availability of lifeguards at the pool.

Photographs of the pool room and surrounding areas, displayed at the inquest, depicted several notices cautioning users that no lifeguards were operational on the day of the incident. Additional signage indicated a requirement for children under the age of eight to be supervised by an adult at all times.

Mr Caliskan relayed to the inquest his lack of awareness regarding the warning signs, elaborating that if there had been any, he would have been capable of reading them despite Turkish being his primary language. He also conveyed concerns about the lighting within the pool room, which was dimmer than normal, rendering the water particularly dark and reducing its transparency.

He remarked: "If I had seen those signs I would have gone back to the park and asked about the lifeguards as I thought there would be lifeguards." The inquest is set to proceed.