RIP: Guy drowned in 1.35m in public pool

[The_King]

 An accomplished violinist drowned in the swallow end of a swimming pool 'after three lifeguards failed to spot him underwater for almost seven minutes.' 

 

 

 

Dominic Hopkins, 57, was swimming at University of East Anglia's (UEA) Sportspark on January 27 2022 when he got into difficulty in the pool. 

The former leader of Norwich Philharmonic was given CPR and resuscitated before he was taken by air ambulance to Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. 

Mr Hopkins died the following day on January 28 2022. 

The inquest into his death at Norwich Coroners Court heard that heard evidence that he was under the water for 'six minutes and 38 seconds.' The court also heard that glare from lights and windows on the water of the pool may have been why lifeguards did not see him motionless in the water.

 

Accomplished violinist Dominic Hopkins (pictured) died after getting into difficulty while swimming  at University of East Anglia's (UEA) Sportspark. An inquest heard that three lifeguards 'failed to spot him underwater' © Provided by Daily Mail

 

Mr Hopkins was the leader of Norwich Philharmonic between 2008 and 2016. In a tribute the orchestra said: 'He was an exceptionally fine violinist and a passionate musician, much-loved by all of us'© Provided by Daily Mail

 

 

University of East Anglia's (UEA) Sportspark (Google maps). The inquest into Mr Hopkins' death heard that glare from lights and windows on the water of the pool may have been why lifeguards did not see him motionless in the water© Provided by Daily Mail

Giving evidence, Peter Jefferson-Wall, who was one of several 'casual' lifeguards at the time of the incident, said: 'Glare is a major risk in all swimming pools.

'As it was a long time ago, I cannot recall if there was glare - going off the facts I am going to say there was glare as I did not see him.

 

 

'There were a fair few people in the pool, so the water was moving a lot - glare aside, a lot of swimming going on in the water can affect visibility a lot.'

It was explained to the court that each lifeguard would sit in a chair, two fitted with nine underwater cameras each.

Each lifeguard would rotate chairs every 20 minutes, with a break from monitoring the pool every 40 minutes.

 

It was during a handover period at 2.55pm that they were alerted by another swimmer that Mr Hopkins was motionless on the pool floor.

He had been swimming in the shallow end of the pool, which would have been 'no deeper than 1.35m' at the time.

While the pool was emptied, the lifeguards retrieved Mr Hopkins from the water and started CPR.