Two endless summers September 5th 13:52

Children who have finished their summer vacation are going to school today.
However, some children can no longer meet.

In August, the life of an 8-year-old girl was lost in the amusement park pool.
The girl drowned under the mat-like playground equipment that floated on the surface of the water.

In the summer of 19 years ago, a person who lost his daughter in a similar accident reveals his regret.
“Why did the lessons not be used?” (Social Department reporter Haruo Ueda)

In the summer vacation pool

The accident occurred on August 15 during the summer vacation.

Yuka Morimoto (8) died in the third year of elementary school in Asaka City, Saitama Prefecture, in the pool of Toshimaen, an amusement park in Nerima-ku, Tokyo, where many parents and children live.

Morimoto visited Toshimaen with her parents and little sister and entered the pool with the father around 1 pm, but soon disappeared. What was found loosely was a large mat-shaped playground equipment floating on the surface of the water.

Spreading “blind spot”

This mat-shaped playground equipment floating in the pool is 2.5 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 30 centimeters thick. It's a fun thing to ride on the top, and is very popular with children on summer vacation.

But there was a blind spot.
It was structured so that it could easily go under the mat.

The pool management company also took certain safety measures.
In addition to height restrictions and confirmation of swimming power, users were required to wear life jackets.

However, this life jacket also caused “unexpected”. The Metropolitan Police Department believes that Mr. Morimoto, who has entered under the playground equipment, is pressed against the playground equipment underwater by the buoyancy of the life jacket and cannot escape.

At the time, a maximum of seven observers were assigned to the pool.

Still, when people entered, they couldn't help because they were completely invisible from the poolside. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, it was about an hour after the start of the search for Morimoto-san when the watcher dived underwater and checked under the play equipment.

The management company explained that

"I didn't expect to dig under the play equipment."

This is exactly the “dead spot”.

No safety standards behind the popularity

Similar play equipment has recently been installed in pools and beaches across the country.
Although it is gaining popularity, there are no safety standards or guidelines.

Why?

According to the “Japan Air Playground Equipment Safety Promotion Association”, there are playground equipment for land and water. The land type is said to be making safety guidelines because it has been damaged in the past by strong winds.

On the other hand, there are no standards or guidelines for playground equipment that floats on water, and safety measures are virtually left to each facility.

Lessons missed

"The same accident happened with my daughter again. Why wasn't the lesson learned?"

A gray-haired man talks in front of a picture of a young girl who shows an innocent smile.

Yasuko Miyazaki (69) from Suginami-ku, Tokyo. In 2000, 19 years ago, in the school pool accident, she lost her daughter, Tatsuko Yako, who was six years old.

In the pool, a large beet board about 1 tatami mat was floating on the surface of the water.
Although the detailed situation of the accident is unknown, it is possible that he drowned under a large beat board.

Mr. Miyazaki points out, "Using such playground equipment creates a blind spot and makes it easier to lose sight of children even if they are monitored from the poolside."

After Ayako's accident, the Suginami Board of Education examined and compiled a guide prohibiting the use of large mats that float on the water in the school pool.

Mr. Miyazaki does not think that the school and leisure facilities should be banned uniformly because the circumstances are different. However, when such playground equipment is used, he urges him to take more thorough safety measures on the assumption that there is a great danger.

“If Tsubaki's accident was handed down as a lesson, this accident should have been prevented. If this is the case, the same accident will happen again. Do not make this accident transient. We want you to investigate and use the information obtained to prevent recurrence. ''

The lessons learned

Do not repeat the tragedy any more. The search for safety measures was started by experts who strengthened their desire.

Tokyo Institute of Technology campus in Meguro-ku, Tokyo. Despite weekday nights, doctors and university professors were eagerly discussing.

“It should have been a structure that cannot be dive under the play equipment”
“Poolside surveillance can make it difficult to see the water depending on the eye level of the observer. You should consider creating a mechanism to constantly monitor the water.”
"Is it possible to attach a device that knows the position to the life jacket?"

They are members of the NPO “Safe Kids Japan” working on activities to prevent children's accidents.

The NPO has been collecting and analyzing cases of accidents, and when they called for information through the website, there were cases where children suffered fractures in addition to the Toshimaen accident. In the future, we will examine cases in detail and call for precautions.

“In the past, there should have been previous cases of injuries or drowning children while using playground equipment. We should proceed with countermeasures, ”he says.

The summer of Kotoshi and the summer 19 years ago. The accident that two girls died in a pool that should be fun shouldn't be a “summer event”. In order not to repeat sorrow next summer.