A tragic incident unfolded during a swimming lesson at a private nursery when a four-year-old girl drowned in a pool that was deemed too deep for children and lacked a lifeguard on duty. The heartbreaking event occurred in the Suleymaniye neighborhood of Inegol, Bursa Province, Turkey, on August 12. Video footage captured the staff’s frantic efforts to rescue the little girl, Berra Dizi, who was found unresponsive in the water before a swimming instructor pulled her out of the pool.
Upon arrival at the scene, a nurse administered first aid to Berra, who was then rushed by paramedics to a state hospital. Despite being transferred to Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Research Hospital, Berra tragically passed away in intensive care seven days later.
An investigation revealed that the pool, utilized for the nursery’s summer activities, was 74 centimeters deep, exceeding the safety standard of 50 centimeters for children’s pools. Furthermore, it was determined that there was no certified lifeguard present, and the swimming teacher was not supervising the children in the pool at the time of the incident. A detailed report commissioned by prosecutors highlighted that Berra had a history of febrile seizures as an infant but had been seizure-free for two years and was no longer on medication as per her doctor’s advice.
While the nursery suggested that Berra suffered an epileptic seizure in the pool, implying her medical condition as the cause of drowning rather than negligence, her parents refuted this claim, asserting that Berra had outgrown her childhood seizures and was healthy. Hospital records supported the parents’ stance, dismissing the seizure theory as an attempt to evade accountability. The investigative report placed the nursery operator as primarily responsible and the swimming teacher as secondarily at fault, while also attributing fault to Berra’s parents for allegedly withholding her complete medical history, a claim they disputed as unjust.
Berra’s father criticized the expert panel for including members who lacked medical expertise, emphasizing that the nursery operated without proper permits and safety measures, questioning its permission to have a pool facility. Concerned parents, like Moum Beyza Turan, highlighted safety lapses, such as the absence of required safety equipment and non-compliance with safety protocols, expressing that adherence to regulations could have prevented the tragedy.
Despite the ongoing inquiry, the nursery continues to operate, prompting parents like Turan to advocate for justice and safety reforms in memory of her daughter.