Toddler dies at waterpark 'after slipping from dad's arms'

In a heartbreaking incident at a waterpark, a toddler tragically lost her life after reportedly "slipping" from her father's arms while going down a slide at a waterpark.

The 21-month-old girl, from Germany, was airlifted to hospital but, despite the best efforts of medical staff, she succumbed to her brain and internal organ injuries.

These were sustained at the Aquagan waterpark in Lopar, Croatia, where it is believed the girl slipped from her father's arms and fell from a height of approximately three and a half metres onto a concrete floor.

Eyewitnesses told local media about the commotion at the waterpark, as staff and emergency services rushed to a section of the attraction following the horrifying accident.

The Mayor of Lopar said that the community has been left "extremely shaken" following the tragedy, which is thought to have been the first major accident at the waterpark in two decades.

Recounting the incident on Tuesday afternoon, one witness stated: "The waiter had just brought me coffee. When we heard crying and shouting, we thought the child had drowned. Then we saw a man carrying the child on the side. A doctor from Slovenia happened to be there and immediately came to help."

It is understood that CPR was performed for several minutes before the toddler was hurriedly transported to Rijeka Hospital via helicopter, the Mirror reports.

The young girl was moved to the Clinical Centre at Rijeka Hospital, which announced in a statement: "Despite prompt care, multiple interventions and intensive treatment, the child died in the morning hours."

Zdenko Jakuc, who is Lopar's Mayor, said: "It is an understatement to say that we are all extremely shaken. When the helicopter landed, everything stopped. We all looked at the sky and hoped for the best."

A spokesperson for Lopar tourist board said: "This park has been operating for years, nothing like this has ever been recorded. Lopar is a place that is perceived as safe, peaceful, and ideal for families with small children."

When a group of pupils crowded onto the 40ft-high Banzai Pipeline slide at Waterworld USA in Concord, California, a portion of the slide gave way beneath their weight, sending the youngsters plummeting to the ground.

Justin Aaron, an English teacher at the school who was marking papers at the bottom of the slide during the incident, remembered: "I looked up and saw bodies flying through the air. They were landing in trees, on rocks and on the concrete...It was like it was happening in slow motion."

As the chute crumpled under three times its intended weight limit, a group of students bundled together plunged to the ground first, followed by others who smashed into wooden support beams before striking the ground or fellow students.