A 14-year-old girl who saw her father, brother and sister drown in a Costa del Sol swimming pool on Christmas Eve has given the first eye witness account of how the tragedy happened.
Heartbroken Favour Diya, 14, told Spanish police she came close to suffering the same fate as her father Gabriel, 52, sister Comfort, nine, and 16-year-old brother Emmanuel-Prince, after ‘sliding’ towards the deepest part of the pool.
She insisted all her family, from Charlton, south east London, could swim but admitted she and her sister were not used to being out of their depth and did not realise the deepest part of the pool was in the middle.
Favour said she ‘got scared’ as she slid into deeper water and struggled to get out as her brother tried to help Comfort who was also in trouble at the Club La Costa World resort near Fuengirola.
Gabriel Diya with his 14-year-old daughter Favour (pictured second left with her brother Praise-Emmanuel who died alongside their father). Pictured (right) is his wife, Olubnmi
Civil guard divers (right) working at the side of a swimming pool at the Club La Costa World holiday resort near Malaga, Spain, on December 24
St Richards Church Centre in Charlton, south east London, where Pastor Gabriel Diya worked. The 52 year-old, his daughter Comfort Diya, nine, and his son Praise-Emmanuel Diya, 16, drowned in a pool at Club La Costa World in Spain on Christmas Eve
Comfort, nine, (pictured above with her father in 2016) had been playing in the pool with sister Favour when she slipped and drifted towards the deep end, which was six-and-a-half-foot deep
Mrs Diya previously said in a statement all three could swim and claimed ‘something was wrong’ with the Spanish hotel pool (pictured)
An English translation of a Guardia Civil statement, released by the hotel operator, stated that tests had found ‘no irregularity’ in the pool’s (pictured) system
Favour said in a police interview on Boxing Day – two days after the tragedy – that her Christian pastor father Gabriel took his trousers off and jumped in to try and save them as she ran to get a life buoy.
Civil Guard investigators described the Christmas Eve drownings after taking statements from survivors Favour and her mum Olubunmi, 49, as a ‘tragic accident’.
The force also said in an official statement late last week that everything was pointing to the holiday deaths being caused by the victims’ ‘lack of swimming expertise.’
Mrs Diya responded by insisting they could all swim and saying through a lawyer she has hired she thought ‘something was wrong with the pool’ following initial speculation there could have been a problem with the pump system which police have insisted they can find no evidence of from tests.
Grief-stricken Favour was only able to offer her version of events 48 hours after the Christmas Eve drama during an interview at a Civil Guard station in Mijas near the scene of the tragedy.
A police van is pictured at the scene after the nine-year-old girl got into difficulties at the swimming pool of the Club La Costa World resort near Fuengirola
Recalling how the whole family headed to the pool area so the children could take their first dip after morning prayers and cereal, she told police during a question and answer session summarised in her statement: ‘My sister and I had had swimming lessons at school and had swum on occasions in a pool but it wasn’t normal because we didn’t often go on holiday.’
Recalling how their parents went to a garden area by the pool as they prepared to get in the water, she added: ‘All three of us were going to jump in holding hands but at the last minute I still had my towel wrapped round me and I went to take it off while my brother and sister got in the water before I joined them.
‘We’ve normally been in pools where the water starts off being shallow and gets deeper with the deep end being the part furthest from the area where you get in.
‘We weren’t aware that the deepest part of the pool was the bit in the middle and my brother and sister went towards that part.
‘I realised I was out of my depth soon after I got into the water. I got scared and only managed to get out of the water with some effort because I’m not used to swimming in places where the water is deep and I can’t stand up.
‘As I was trying to get out I heard my brother shouting for help and saw my sister was under the water and my brother was struggling to keep his head above water.
‘My father who was not in the water quickly took his trousers off and jumped into the water to help my brother and sister.’
She told police she did not see whether Mr Diya managed to reach them because she ran to get a life buoy she had ‘great difficulty’ unfastening from its holder.
Favour said her loved ones were already under the water when she threw it into the pool.
Her mum went looking for help and knocked on the doors nearest the pool until three cleaners saw her and alerted reception.
Staff subsequently recovered the bodies of her father and siblings.
Asked whether her dad knew how to swim, Favour told police: ‘I don’t know. My dad travels a lot and we have never swum together.’
Asked again why her sister was in the deepest part of the pool after she confessed she had never swum in the sea or in a part of any pool where she wasn’t out of her depth, she repeated: ‘We never thought the deepest part of the pool was in the middle and the slope in the pool made her slide towards the middle and that was the reason my sister was there and the reason why I ended up slipping towards that area.’
She told police she was able to get out in time because she had got in last and was nearer pool steps she was able to use to exit the water.
She admitted she could not remember any strange noises, described the water as ‘cold’ but tolerable and insisted the tragedy would have been avoided if there had been a lifeguard.
In a revelation which will add fuel to speculation there was an anomaly of some sort with the pool, she said when asked if she could remember ‘any suction or current in the pool’: ‘The water was moving but I don’t know how to explain it.’
Although Favour told police she was not aware the deepest part of the pool was in the middle, the children’s mum insisted to investigators she had told her youngest girl Comfort.
She also revealed that the none of the three cleaners she came across as she desperately tried to raise help knew how to swim.
She said they opted for the pool where the tragedy occurred because another one on their complex was for kids under the age of six.
Insisting they used steps to get into the water, she confirmed to police in her interview which was also summarised in a four-page statement in Spanish from her comments in English relayed to police through a translator, that Favour was the last of the children to get into the water because the 14-year-old had to leave her towel.
She said: ‘I heard my son in the middle of the pool shouting for help and my husband took his trousers off and jumped into the water to help our daughter who I couldn’t see above the surface of the water as I ran to get help.’
Asked if her husband knew how to swim, she told police: ‘I know he has swum in rivers when he was younger but I have never seen him swimming.’
Regarding her children’s knowledge of swimming, she said: ‘They have had lessons at school and my youngest child had her last class the week before our holiday.
‘They have always swum only in pools, never in the sea, and in areas where they weren’t out of their depth.
‘They always knew they couldn’t be in the area where they weren’t out of their depth and could stand up.’
She insisted she thought something ‘foreign’ to them had led to them being in the deep part of the pool.
She confirmed she was aware of the depths of the pool in its different parts and told police when asked if her children knew that she had ‘told her youngest daughter not to go into the middle of the pool because it was the deepest part.’
She admitted they were not accustomed to the concave-shaped pool where they died, said they had all been in good health before the tragedy and said she agreed with Favour that no loss of life would have occurred if there had been a lifeguard on duty.
Toxicology tests are expected to take several weeks to complete as they have been sent to a specialist lab in Seville.
In a statement released after the tragedy through her lawyer Javier Toro, Mrs Diya said: ‘I would like to thank all those who have sent their condolences and supported our family during this extremely difficult time following the tragic deaths of Gabriel, Comfort and Praise-Emmanuel.
‘Our family are utterly heartbroken by the events last Tuesday but we are comforted and strengthened by our strong faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
‘We are deeply shocked, saddened and struggling to come to terms with their passing. They all brought a joy and love to the world and to everyone that crossed their path. We love them all dearly, will always remember them in our hearts and miss them greatly.’
Refuing police claims about why they drowned, she added: ‘The three of them knew how to swim.
‘We never informed the police or anyone that the family members could not swim.
‘The whole family, all five of us went to the pool together and were all present when the incident occurred. The children were not left unattended.
‘We followed the instructions displayed by the poolside at all times.
‘The children went into the pool using the steps but found themselves dragged into the middle, which was deeper and called for help when they could not get out.
‘My daughter did not fall into the water.
‘My husband went in via the steps trying to help the two struggling while I ran to the nearby apartments shouting for help to assist my husband.
‘By the time assistance came, the three of them were under the water.
‘My eldest daughter was not medically examined as claimed by some news media.
‘I believe something was wrong with the pool that must have made swimming difficult for them at that point in time.
‘Investigations are still ongoing by the Spanish police to determine what happened, and no information has been passed to the family about their conclusions.
‘As we come to terms with our loss, we ask for privacy in order for our family to be able to grieve privately.’
The police force said in a lengthy statement released ahead of Mrs Diya’s response: ‘The Civil Guard investigation, after carrying out different tests and taking statements from different people who were caught up in the Christmas Eve tragedy, points to a tragic accident which in principle was caused by the victims’ lack of swimming expertise.
‘According to the only direct family witness, three siblings aged nine, 14 and 16 were in the shallow end of the pool at the complex the family had checked into on December 22, while their parents were sunbathing.
‘The girl of 14 left the pool at one point and saw how her younger sister was going towards the deep end and couldn’t get out of the water by herself.
‘When he saw what was happening their 16-year-old brother went to help her but experienced the same problem getting out of the swimming pool.
‘The sister that was out of the water shouted out to her parents, and the mum asked other neighbours for help while the father jumped into the pool to rescue his children, something which he was unable to do because he couldn’t swim.
‘Efforts to revive the three people who died proved impossible after their bodies were recovered from the water.’
Revealing the battery of tests performed the same afternoon by expert Civil Guard divers, which included checks on the circulation system and pool motor, had found ‘nothing irregular’, the statement added: ‘The Civil Guard officers collected water samples which are currently being analysed.
‘The autopsies indicated they died from drowning and ruled out in principle any chemical poisoning.
‘The bodies didn’t appear either to have any signs of injury on them or scratches that the elements that make up the pool circulation system could have caused.
‘For all the above reasons, all the tests and evidence collected so far including the statements of the other two members of the family who were the only direct witnesses of what occurred, point to this being a tragic accident resulting from the victims’ lack of swimming expertise when they entered the pool deep end.’
Officers also confirmed in the police statement Comfort’s swimming cap had been found at the bottom of the pool without specifying exactly where.
Resort chiefs have previously insisted police found ‘no concerns’ with the pool during tests despite initial speculation by local media there could be a problem with the pool pump system.
They said in a statement released at the weekend: ‘Naturally we have heard the comments made on behalf of Mrs Diya in a widely publicised statement to the media.
‘The claims made in that statement are directly at odds with the findings of the police report. This makes it clear that their exhaustive investigations have confirmed the pool was working normally and there was no malfunction of any kind.’