Senior Multimedia Reporter
Prayers and relief in Gasparillo on Friday after a six-year-old girl was rescued and revived from a pool, just days after the country was shaken by the tragic death of seven-year-old Angelica Jogie, who died in a jet ski accident in Tobago. However, the child remains in critical condition after being underwater for eight minutes.
While families across Trinidad and Tobago continued to mourn Jogie’s death, loved ones of Skylar Gabriel gathered in hope, giving thanks that the young child—who is autistic—survived a near-drowning incident at Bumper Jumperz Fun Park in Bonne Aventure, Gasparillo.
According to a police report, the incident occurred around 1.20 pm on Friday, when PC Garcia, PC Ramsamooj and PC Sammy responded to a report of a child found unresponsive at the facility.
When they arrived, they met Skylar’s parents—Desire Walters, a 41-year-old firefighter, and Sheldon Gabriel, also 41, a fire safety officer assigned to Savonetta, Couva—who said their daughter had been bathing in a pool with other children when she was discovered unresponsive. Walters and Gabriel said that although they searched for their daughter around the pool areas, they did not notice her underwater until several minutes later. They also said there were no lifeguards or life jackets at the facility, noting that their daughter was accustomed to water, as it was not the first time she had visited a water park.
Investigators said the child had been in a pool located on the southern side of the compound when she was pulled from the water by patrons. Emergency Health Services were immediately contacted, and responders reportedly detected signs of life before rushing her to the San Fernando General Hospital. She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, where she remains in critical condition. Both parents said they were focused on the recovery of their child.
When Guardian Media visited the scene, video footage was shown in the moments leading up to the incident. The footage showed Skylar submerged in a larger pool for approximately eight minutes while her parents searched the compound trying to locate her. They did not immediately search the adult pool.
A senior official at the facility said the child had initially been in a designated children’s area but later moved unsupervised toward a more crowded section with a larger pool and slides.
“The camera would show that the child was in the kids’ pool unsupervised. She left and went up to the big slide,” the official said. “There were a lot of children there, so the workers couldn’t differentiate whether she was with a group.” There were two pool guards there at the time.
The official said the footage shows children continuing to enter the pool while Skylar remained underwater, unnoticed amid the activity.
“Because of the movement and the number of people, no one realised she had gone under,” he added.
Skylar was eventually spotted by other patrons, who pulled her from the water and raised an alarm.
The official also said staff were unaware that the child was autistic and claimed she was not wearing any flotation device at the time.
Police have since requested a medical report as investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident continue.
