near-drowning — A four-year-old boy has been airlifted to Israel in critical condition after a near-drowning incident at a hotel pool in Paphos on 20 August. The child, an Israeli national, was initially treated at Makarios Hospital in Nicosia, where he remained on life support.
The incident took place shortly after the boy and his family arrived in Paphos for a holiday. According to police reports, the family, consisting of the mother and two children, had just checked into their hotel in the Chlorakas area and decided to head to the pool while their accommodation was being prepared.
It was a swimmer who first noticed the boy at the bottom of the pool and quickly brought him to the surface. Lifeguards and the child’s mother attempted to administer first aid, but the boy remained unconscious. Emergency services were called and transported him to Paphos Hospital.
Upon arrival at Paphos Hospital, medical staff assessed the situation and determined that the child required immediate transfer to a specialist unit at Makarios Hospital. Following intubation, he was moved by ambulance to the capital for further treatment.
The mother of the child, aged 51, informed police that her son had been playing in the shallow end of the pool under her supervision. She had turned her attention to her younger child when the four-year-old apparently wandered into the deeper section of the pool.



