The ‘utterly heartbroken’ mother whose husband and two children drowned in a Costa del Sol swimming pool has hired a top lawyer to dispute claims they could not swim.
Olubunmi Diya, 49, said yesterday that ‘something must have been wrong with the pool’ that ‘made swimming difficult’ as she challenged the allegation her husband Gabriel, 52, and children Comfort, nine, and Praise-Emmanuel, 16, were not skilled in water.
Her words put the spotlight back on the six-and-a-half feet deep pool at Club La Costa World near Fuengirola, Malaga, where it has been alleged there were problems with the pump system.
However, resort chiefs have repeatedly claimed there ‘was no malfunction of any kind’ with the pool after Spanish Police conducted an ‘exhaustive’ investigation.
Praise-Emmanuel and Gabriel jumped into the pool after Comfort lost her footing and got into difficulty. Daughter Favour, 14, had been playing with Comfort moments beforehand.
The family had been on holiday at the resort from their home in Charlton, south-east London.
Gabriel Diya is pictured with his wife Olubunmi, who was on holiday with him and their three children when the tragedy struck 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
Earlier reports had alleged their may have been a problem with the pool’s pump system. It is one of several at Club La Costa World, near Fuengirola, but was little used as it was not heated
Fuengirola-based lawyer Javier Toro, spokesman for centre-right Ciudadanos party in the principality, is understood to be working with Mrs Diya.
In a statement to Sky News yesterday, she said her family has been left ‘utterly heartbroken’ by the tragedy.
‘The whole family, all five of us went to the pool together and were all present when the incident occurred,’ she said. ‘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 hep 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.
‘I believe something was wrong with the pool that must have made swimming difficult for them at that point in time.’
It was initially claimed that none of the trio knew how to swim when they entered the pool on Tuesday (Pictured: Gabriel and Praise-Emmanuel)
The children’s mother Olubunmi, has said her family has been left ‘utterly heartbroken’ by the loss. (Pictured: Gabriel with son Praise-Emmanuel and daughter Favour)
Speaking about her loss, Ms Diya said: ‘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.’
Mrs Diya’s comments contradict earlier claims by the Spanish Police that her surviving daughter, Favour, had claimed the family didn’t know how to swim.
Francisco Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Civil Guard union AUGC, said: ‘The surviving sister has said they didn’t know how to swim.
‘With that information and the fact we know the water in the pool was very cold, the mystery of what caused this awful tragedy begins to unravel itself.’
Hotel operator CLC World Resorts and Hotels responded last night by stating the grieving mother’s claims are ‘directly at odds’ with the findings of the police report.
‘(The report) makes it clear that their exhaustive investigations have confirmed the pool was working normally and there was no malfunction of any kind,’ they said.
‘The police report containing full findings has been passed to us and also made public by the police.
‘Our sympathies remain with the family at what we understand must be a stressful and desperately upsetting time for them.
They have also stated that ‘diligent’ and ‘exhaustive’ police investigations have confirmed that the pool was ‘working normally’ and that there was ‘no malfunction of any kind’.
Resort chiefs had also previously said there were ‘no concerns’ relating to the pool in question.
The Costa Del Sol pool tragedy began when a nine-year-old girl got out of her depth and her 14-year-old brother and father Gabriel, 52, (pictured) jumped in to save her at 2pm on Christmas Eve
Pictured: The entrance to the Club La Costa World resort on Spain’s Costa del Sol where three Britons died
Police sources later confirmed it had been discovered in the pool drainage grid but insisted divers had not identified any problems that could have caused a dangerous suction entrapment when they were in the water after the tragedy.
It was later claimed the swimming cap had been located in a pool skimmer basket where things like leaves or insects normally end up.
On Wednesday night, resort chiefs said the Civil Guard had given them permission to reopen the pool which is one of several on the sprawling holiday complex but was being little used because it was not heated.
The force insisted overnight it had never authorised the reopening of the pool because the resort operator was responsible for the holiday complex and the safety of its holidaymakers, and police had never closed it in the first place.
Autopsies performed at Malaga’s Institute of Forensic Medicine on Wednesday reportedly confirmed the cause of death of all three Britons was drowning.
Pathologists found no signs of any external injuries, or evidence they had been poisoned, during the examinations. Medical experts have also found nothing pointing to chlorine poisoning in the pool.
Gabriel’s widow and surviving daughter are due to fly back to the UK today after a week long holiday, but are currently being comforted by relatives who flew to Spain from Britain.
It is not yet clear whether they will delay their return or jet back home as scheduled.
The tragedy occurred after a nine-year-old girl got into difficulties in the resort’s swimming pool (pictured) and her older brother and their father jumped into the water to save her
A police van at the scene after a nine-year-old girl got into difficulties at the swimming pool of the Club La Costa World resort near Fuengirola this afternoon
A witness who helped perform CPR on pastor father-of-three Mr Diya told on Wednesday how his wife prayed and touched her loved ones’ bodies to try to will them back to life.
Josias Fletchman, from Manchester, said in a moving account of how he tried to save them: ‘The mum was praying for them to come back to life.
‘She was calm. She was touching their bodies. She continued praying even after the ambulance people arrived and had stopped trying to revive them.
‘She exercised her faith to the limit. I was performing CPR on her husband but I’m a believer and I prayed as well.
‘She strengthened me in the way she reacted. It just wasn’t meant to be.’
Mr Diya was head of Open Heavens, a London branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God network founded in Nigeria. He also ran his own property business.
His widow, an assistant pastor, is a systems analyst who owns her own software firm.
Praise-Emmanuel, a Bexley heath Grammar School student, was the only one of the five relatives who was not travelling on a British passport. Police described the teenager, thought to have been born in Illinois, as American in the wake of the tragedy.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God posted a tribute on Facebook on Thursday which said: ‘With heavy hearts, we extend our condolences to the family, parish, friends and associates of Area Pastor Gabriel Diya who sadly passed away, along with two of his children in a tragic accident while on a family holiday in Spain.
‘At this very difficult time, our prayers are for Pastor Gabriel Diya’s family, the parishes that were under his supervision, friends, associates members of RCCGs and the general public.’