British boy fighting for life after being found at bottom of cruise ship pool

A six-year-old British boy is fighting for his life in a French hospital after being found unconscious at the bottom of a cruise ship swimming pool.

He was discovered in one of the outdoor pools on the Independence of the Seas liner as it passed near Breton, northern France, according to the Mirror.

The BBC reports that he was travelling with his parents on the 338-metre ship when the incident occurred.

The boy was airlifted to a Morvan Hospital in Brest by a French Navy NH90 twin-engine helicopter after the captain alerted the Operational Centre for Maritime Surveillance and Rescue.

Yann Bouvard, a spokesman for the maritime prefecture in Brest, said the boy had been found unconscious at the bottom of the pool, his heart had stopped and he was not breathing.

He was pulled out of the pool, and the ship's doctor managed to get his heart beating again after performing CPR.

Speaking to the Times, Mr Bouvard described the accident as "incomprehensible" and added: "What is terrible is that children can drown without making any noise at all.

"We've never had a case of a boy drowning in a pool on a ship before, but we have, unfortunately, a lot of experience of that happening in pools on land, and we know that it can happen to anyone, anywhere."

He added: "It's very important that the parents should not feel guilty, because this sort of thing can happen without anyone realising."

The Independence of the Seas, operated by the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, is currently on a six-night trip across western Europe, and left Southampton on Sunday.

According to the Daily Mail, it has three pools, six whirlpools and an "interactive water park for kids and families filled with geysers, sculpted fountains and waterfalls".

It can carry up to 4,375 passengers 1,360 crew members.

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