Egypt’s Public Prosecution has said that negligence by championship organizers, lifeguards, and referees led to the loss of life of 12-year-old swimmer Youssef Mohamed Abdel Malek on 7 December, after footage confirmed he remained underwater for a number of minutes throughout an official race with out being observed.
The incident occurred throughout the Underneath-12 Nationwide Swimming Championship on the Cairo Worldwide Stadium on 3 December. Eyewitnesses mentioned Abdel Malek accomplished his 50-metre backstroke race earlier than fainting and sinking to the underside of the pool.
His physique was solely found firstly of the subsequent relay race. Mother and father on the occasion said lifeguards and lane timekeepers weren’t current at their posts and that no defibrillator was out there on-site, delaying vital rescue efforts.
In its assertion, the Prosecution acknowledged that it opened an investigation instantly after reporting the incident on the Cairo Worldwide Stadium Swimming Advanced.
Prosecutors inspected the venue and located no functioning surveillance cameras, then seized Abdel Malek’s medical file and an unedited video recording from the Egyptian Swimming Federation displaying the total sequence of occasions. A full post-mortem was ordered to find out the reason for loss of life and whether or not medical procedures had been adopted.
Testimony from Abdel Malek’s father, one other guardian, his non-public coach, and more than twenty officers and medical workers pointed to failures by referees and lifeguards to adjust to security laws. Footage reviewed by prosecutors confirmed Abdel Malek finishing his race earlier than sinking to the underside of the pool, the place he remained for 3 minutes and 34 seconds till he was observed firstly of the subsequent race.
A committee fashioned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports activities told prosecutors that each the Egyptian Swimming Federation and Al-Zohour Sporting Membership violated the Sports activities Legislation and the Medical Code for Athletes, together with required pre-competition medical checks. The Prosecution mentioned its investigation is ongoing and has summoned officers from each entities.