Londonderry boy drowns in pool while visiting Disneyland Paris

Less than an hour after arriving in Paris to celebrate his birthday and Christmas, a five-year-old boy drowned in an unattended hotel swimming pool.

The boy, Colum Canning, of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, was playing with his twin brother, Kieran, at the Explorers Hotel near the Disneyland Paris resort on Thursday before he was found floating in the hotel’s swimming pool.

Thomas Cook operates the hotel and confirmed that there was no lifeguard on duty at the pool, but that was in line with the law in France.

The boys were on holiday with their sister Caitlin and parents David and Karen Canning to celebrate the birthday of the twins and Christmas.

Colum was said to have been floating in the pool by a man from Scotland who dived into the swimming pool to rescue him.

The boy was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead on Saturday after life support was switched off.

It is understood that his family is staying near the hospital where the boy was treated while awaiting the release of his body for the trip back to Northern Ireland.

Sophie Martin Canning, the boy’s aunt, described him as a mischievous child, who was usually inseparable from his twin.

www.thomascook.com