THE father of an 11-year-old girl who drowned at a Windsor water park has appealed to the public for help uncovering the truth as she was laid to rest.
Kyra Hill was attending a birthday party at Liquid Leisure near Windsor when she went missing on August 6.
Emergency services were called at 3.55pm and Kyra was found just after 5.10pm and rushed to Wexham Park Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The drowning happened in a designated swimming area.
On Monday, Kyra’s family attended her funeral in Croydon, south London.
Following the ceremony, her father Leonard Hill urged people to come forward if they were at Liquid Leisure on August 6 or if they had safety concerns in the past.
Mr Hill said his family desperately want the truth about what happened to Kyra to stand any hope of coming to terms with her death.
“In amongst our terrible, all-consuming grief, there is also anger that our beloved daughter could and should have been saved,” he said.
Family lawyer Harvinder Kaur, from law firm Fieldfisher, said several people have already contacted her in the wake of the tragedy to discuss their experiences at Liquid Leisure.
She said: “Kyra died at a birthday party. Her family, friends and community are devastated. How did this happen?
“The family buried Kyra today (Spetember 5). [She was] a young girl full of promise and with a long life to live.
“Their torture of needing to work out exactly what happened cannot be under-estimated.
“If you have any information or were there on the day and saw anything, we would appreciate your help.”
In a statement, Liquid Leisure said: “Everyone at Liquid Leisure is heartbroken by the tragic incident on August 6 and our thoughts remain with the family and all those affected.
“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.
“We can confirm that the incident took place in the designated swimming area of our lake, which always has a fully trained Royal Life Saving Society lifeguard on duty.
“Liquid Leisure Windsor 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.
“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.”
Thames Valley Police said Kyra’s death is being treated as unexplained but non-suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead officers took over responsibility for the investigation to determine any potential breaches under relevant health and safety legislation.
A spokesman for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said: “The legal onus is on businesses to comply with relevant health and safety legislation, and ensure they have in place suitable and sufficient risk assessments and associated safe systems of work to identify and manage risks.
“We are in the process of conducting a health and safety investigation into the tragic incident at Liquid Leisure to determine any potential breaches under relevant health and safety legislation.
“Alongside this, in light of the fatality, we served a notice prohibiting all recreational activities associated with the lake until Liquid Leisure has satisfied the council they have suitable and sufficient risk assessments to prevent or reduce the risk of drowning and this notice remains in place.
“We would again like to express our deepest condolences to Kyra’s family and friends.”
Ms Kaur can be contacted by email on harvinder.kaur@fieldfisher.com
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