The father of a girl who died at a water park said she was “left to drown” and could have been saved, as he accused the operator of “neglect”.
Kyra Hill, 11, died after she got into difficulty in the water at Liquid Leisure Park in Datchet, Berkshire, where she was attending a party.
She died less than two weeks before her own 12th birthday.
Her father Leonard told Sky News: “I am 100% sure Kyra could have been saved if Liquid Leisure and the staff had acted sooner and more urgently.”
“This has ripped my family to pieces,” he added.
Liquid Leisure told Sky News that everyone at the company is “heartbroken by the tragic incident” and “our thoughts remain with the family and those affected”.
The company added: “We have been working closely with the various authorities to assist the ongoing investigation. As a result, we are limited in what we can say about the incident itself at this stage.”
Describing his daughter as “one of my besties”, Mr Hill claimed staff were slow to respond and searched the wrong areas of the park.
“Me and her had an unbreakable bond,” he said.
“They’ve ripped one of my closest people in life away from me because they haven’t acted in urgency. They hadn’t sounded the alarm with urgency, they didn’t call the emergency services in a fast enough time.”
Read more: ‘It was chaos’: Witness describes moments after girl, 11, went missing at Liquid Leisure
‘This is neglect – she had a chance’
Mr Hill said Kyra was found “in the same body of water she went down in”.
She wasn’t on the inflatables and was in an area of the park with a sign indicating “shallow water” – and where she wasn’t required to wear a lifejacket.
“She was never missing from the water,” the father-of-three said.
“All other searches that took place were unnecessary because it was quite clear and obvious – and as things unfold you’ll see how quite clear and obvious.
“This was neglect. A lack of awareness. Not paying attention.
“Almost a carefree attitude shown towards her. I would say she was left to drown.
“Because there is no way she can have gone down in that same body of water and it’s taken you over 30 minutes to contact the emergency services.
“She had a chance. But lack of urgency, lack of interest, lack of action, is the reason why my daughter is no longer here today.”
Kyra Hill, pictured with her mother, sister and brother
Area where she drowned was ‘least searched’
Mr Hill said there was only one lifeguard watching the beach area and said Kyra was found drowned in a 9x12m area.
“The least searched area throughout the whole search was the actual 9x12m open swimming area,” he said.
Liquid Leisure confirmed the incident took place in the swimming area but said there is always a fully trained Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) lifeguard on duty in that zone.
Reliving the moment he found out what happened, Mr Hill said: “I got a phone call saying Kyra was underwater and she had been underwater for half an hour.
“I knew then she was gone.”
He said Liquid Leisure has not been in contact with the family.
Kyra had dreams of playing for Manchester United women’s football team
Kyra, who had dreams of playing for Manchester United’s women’s team – leaves behind a brother, aged three, and sister, aged 14.
“Her little brother is not really aware, but he misses his sister,” said Mr Hill.
“He asks about her every day. But her older sister is cut up, she’s distraught. Kyra was her best friend.”
He said he does not want to see the park reopened and wants to “fight on” to protect other children and families.
The park has been prevented from opening by the local council on health and safety grounds.
Liquid Leisure has been told it must show it has reduced the risk of drowning before business can resume.
Liquid Leisure said its site in Datchet “has been operating for over 20 years and has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors during that time”.
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our visitors,” it added.
“We want to reiterate our deepest sympathies to the family and all those impacted by this tragedy, and will provide further updates when we can.”
