7-year-old boy dies after drowning at Aquapark Fala in Łódź; prosecution reclassifies case as involuntary death
A 7-year-old boy who spent six minutes submerged at Aquapark Fala in Łódź on 27 July has died after two weeks in hospital. His parents donated his organs, and prosecutors have reclassified the case as involuntary causing of death.
The drowning
On 27 July 2026, a 7-year-old boy drowned at Aquapark Fala in Łódź during a swimming lesson organized by an external company as part of a summer day camp. The group consisted of 12 children supervised by a swimming instructor, a coordinator, and a trainee. Monitoring footage recorded that the boy spent about 3 minutes cyclically surfacing and submerging on one of the pool lanes, followed by approximately 6 minutes fully submerged at the bottom of the pool. He was noticed and pulled from the water by a bystander, an older man who had come to swim at the pool, and who began resuscitation. Emergency services arrived and continued resuscitation for about half an hour before vital functions were restored. The boy was then transported in critical condition to the Instytut Centrum Zdrowia Matki Polki (ICZMP) in Łódź, where he was placed in a pharmacological coma.
- 7-year-old boy drowns at Aquapark Fala during summer swimming lesson
- Brain death declared at ICZMP after two weeks; parents donate organs
- Process experiment to reconstruct drowning planned at aquapark
Hospital course and organ donation
After two weeks of fighting for the child's life, doctors at ICZMP declared brain death on 12 August 2026. Hospital spokesperson Adam Czerwiński confirmed the news.
Brain death was confirmed, and the patient's parents decided to donate his organs posthumously to save the lives of other people.
He added that the parents asked for their privacy to be respected during this difficult time. The organ procurement and transfer is being overseen by PolTransplant, which must coordinate the procedure with forensic medical experts carrying out an autopsy ordered by the prosecution to determine the cause of death for the investigation.
Investigation and legal reclassification
Prosecutor Emilia Michałowska-Marchewa of the District Prosecutor's Office in Łódź stated that the boy's death changes the legal qualification of the case from exposing a ward to direct danger of loss of life or severe bodily harm to involuntary causing of death. A medical rescue expert has been appointed to the case.
The proceedings are still ongoing in the case, and a decision on whether to bring any charges will be made only after the entirety of the evidence has been gathered.
Immediately after the incident, under the prosecutor's supervision, authorities reviewed monitoring footage, seized contracts between the camp organizer and the aquapark, and questioned some of the staff on duty that day. Sobriety tests were conducted and showed no one was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. Investigators determined that at least two lifeguards were in positions from which they could have seen the drowning child. No one has yet been charged.
- Cyclic surfacing/submerging
- 3 minutes
- Fully submerged at bottom
- 6 minutes
Planned reconstruction
A process experiment reconstructing the circumstances of the drowning will be conducted at Aquapark Fala, but only after 15 September. The pool is currently closed, and the reconstruction must replicate the conditions present at the time of the accident. The experiment is to take place at the same location, at the same time of day, with the participation of individuals who were present during the event. Only after these procedures are completed will the prosecutor be able to proceed with any potential charges.
