Waterworld issues statement after tragic death of girl, 4, at aqua park

Waterworld's new owner has issued a statement after the tragic death of a four-year-old girl after she was found unconscious at the UK's biggest aqua park.

A child was found in critical condition following an unspecified incident in Waterworld at Festival Park in Staffordshire last Monday. Laurent Bruloy, executive chairman and co-founder of the Looping Group, said he has been "deeply saddened" following the tragic death. The girl was resuscitated by ambulance teams and was then rushed to hospital, where she sadly died. The owner added that his "thoughts and sympathy" were with the young girl's family at this time.

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Mr Bruloy, in a statement to StokeonTrentLive, said: "The deal was finalised on 31st of July and although Looping Group has been pleased to welcome the park in the Looping group family, we have all been saddened by the recent tragic accident and extend our deepest thoughts and sympathy to the family of the young girl involved and stand by the Waterworld teams.

"We will continue to support the local community. I want to thank Mo for his trust and support — Waterworld has been a remarkable family success story that we are excited to develop further."

Reports say the young girl was found unconscious in the lagoon area of the park. This comes after some parents claimed their children got into difficulty in the wave pool.

Waterworld has confirmed no waves were operating at the time of the tragedy. In a previous statement, the aqua park said: "We confirm that this incident did not take place in the Wave Pool, nor were the waves on at the time.

"We have worked in full cooperation with the authorities during their investigations, resulting in them permitting Waterworld to re pen as normal from Wednesday August 6. Waterworld welcomes around 250,000 visitors per year and, as you can imagine, our safety procedures are extremely rigorous."

This comes as it was revealed that Looping had bought Waterworld Leisure Limited and Waterworld Leisure Group Limited on July 31 just days before the tragedy. The new owners said it has been in discussions with former Waterworld owner Mo Chaudry for a year before the deal was completed for an undisclosed sum.

Mr Bruloy said: "The deal was finalised on 31st of July and although Looping Group has been pleased to welcome the park in the Looping group family, we have all been saddened by the recent tragic accident and extend our deepest thoughts and sympathy to the family of the young girl involved and stand by the Waterworld teams.

"We will continue to support the local community. I want to thank Mo for his trust and support — Waterworld has been a remarkable family success story that we are excited to develop further."