A tragic incident unfolded during a swimming lesson at a private nursery, resulting in the drowning of a four-year-old girl in a pool that was considered too deep for children and lacked a lifeguard on duty. The heartbreaking event occurred at a nursery in the Suleymaniye neighborhood of Inegol in Bursa Province, Turkey, on August 12. Video footage captured the staff’s frantic efforts to rescue little Berra Dizi after she was found unresponsive in the water and was pulled out by a swimming instructor.
Upon being provided initial aid by a nurse on-site, Berra was swiftly transported to a state hospital by paramedics. Despite being transferred to Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Research Hospital, she tragically passed away in intensive care seven days later.
An investigation revealed that the pool, intended for the nursery’s summer activities, had a depth of 74 centimeters (29 inches), exceeding the safety regulations limiting children’s pool depths to 50 centimeters (19 inches).
Investigators noted the absence of a certified lifeguard on duty and the swimming teacher not being in the pool with the children at the time of the incident. A detailed report, commissioned by prosecutors and spanning 12 pages, disclosed that Berra’s mother had disclosed her daughter’s history of febrile seizures in infancy, though she had been seizure-free for two years and had followed medical advice to discontinue medication.
While the school asserted that Berra had experienced an epileptic episode in the pool, linking her drowning to her medical condition rather than negligence, her parents refuted this claim, asserting that Berra had outgrown her childhood seizures and was not suffering from any ongoing illness.
The parents maintained that hospital records confirmed Berra drowned and dismissed the seizure theory as an attempt to evade responsibility. The investigative report assigned primary fault to the nursery operator E.B.O. and secondary fault to the swimming teacher N.T.
Additionally, Berra’s parents were designated as primarily at fault for allegedly withholding complete medical history, a charge they vehemently contested. Ismail Dizi, Berra’s father, criticized the expert panel, highlighting that two members, despite being mechanical engineers, had issued inappropriate medical opinions instead of focusing on safety lapses.
He raised concerns about the nursery operating without proper permits and safety measures, stating that the facility should not have been authorized to have a pool. Moum Beyza Turan, another parent, disclosed that instructions were given not to send children with arm floats that day and believed adherence to safety protocols could have prevented the tragedy.
Despite the ongoing inquiry, the nursery continues to operate, prompting Turan to pledge ongoing efforts to seek justice for her daughter.
