Diver who found girl drowned at waterpark says lake had ‘almost zero visibility’

The diver who found an 11-year-old girl who drowned at a waterpark said the lake “had almost zero visibility”, an inquest has heard.

Kyra Hill got into difficulty in a designated swimming area at Liquid Leisure near Windsor, Berkshire, in August 2022.

A 17-year-old lifeguard dived in after her at 3.20pm before leaving the water to radio her colleagues.

At 3.44pm, around 13 minutes before emergency services were called, the park owner called an off-duty firefighter who lived nearby and was a divemaster, Berkshire Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday.

Chris Knight, who previously worked at the park, picked up at around 4.19pm and CCTV showed Mr Knight first entering the water with an oxygen tank at 4.33pm.

He found Kyra at around 5.10pm.

The diver said he searched two parts of the lake before he was told that CCTV showed her going under at another location.

He said that as far as he was aware no-one had looked at the CCTV by the time he arrived at the park.

Mr Knight emerged from the water with Kyra about 12 minutes after he started looking in the third area.

Describing his final search, the firefighter said: “Because everything else had seemed slow, that seemed fast”.

Mr Knight said no divers worked at the park and and he helped staff there “very occasionally”.

Asked if he was the most convenient diver for Liquid Leisure to call in response to emergency, he said: “I would say I was the only option.”

Liquid Leisure owner and director Stuart Marston, who phoned Mr Knight, later accepted that this was the case.

Finding Kyra would be like looking for a “needle in a haystack” for a surface swimmer diving down, Mr Knight said.

He said: “It’s not impossible but they would have been very lucky to have gone to the right spot, to have gone down to that depth with almost zero visibility.”

“I could probably see a metre at most and that’s like seeing a shadow in a metre, rather than seeing in detail,” he added.

Mr Knight had known Mr Marston for around three decades.

He said he started wakeboarding at Liquid Leisure shortly after it opened and later worked there.

After moving career Mr Knight continued to work at the leisure park part-time.

He said he had never had any concerns about its safety.

There was no policy in place for a missing swimmer and CCTV was not immediately checked, Mr Marston accepted.

A general health and safety measure in place was to look at CCTV, the inquest heard.

Mr Marston said he arrived at the scene three minutes after the lifeguard raised the alarm.

The owner agreed that he could have at that point watched the video and seen where Kyra had gone under.

Conflicting and incorrect information started to circulate, with some customers reporting that Kyra had left the water and others saying she swam to different parts of the lake.

Mr Marston described scenes of “complete panic” and confusion.

He led a land search while watersports manager David Novell organised looking in the water.

Abbi, the lifeguard who spotted Kyra in distress, returned twice to the designated swimming area but no other lifeguards were dispatched there, the hearing was told.

Senior coroner Heidi Connor put to Mr Marston that: “The whole purpose of having a procedure and having drills is to try and deal with and reduce the chaos, the panic, the state of emergency and the shock”.

He was asked if a missing person procedure would detail individuals’ responsibilities, who took information from who, and if it would include immediately checking CCTV.

“In hindsight now, yes”, Mr Marston responded.

He also accepted that it would include shutting down other activities to free-up lifeguards, which was not done initially, and searching where the missing swimmer was last seen.

The designated swimming area will never reopen and the inflatable activities are currently closed, he told the inquest.

A cable system where customers can practice waterskiing and wakeboarding by holding onto a tow is currently operating, he said.

As is the boat lake, boat watersports and open water swimming.

Swimmers must be at least 18-years-old and use a brightly-coloured tow float and helmet, the owner added.

A lifeguard works from a paddleboard in that section and another “spotter” is on the land, he said.

Two Thames Valley officers arrived during the close of the morning sitting after Mrs Connor warned that people have a right to give evidence “without fears for their safety”.

She also reminded those giving evidence to “tell the truth” and did not specify what either comment referred to.

The coroner pointed the officers out, and added: “The reason why we stand and bow at inquests – it is not for me, it is not for the court, it is out of respect for Kyra and I must insist that these proceedings remain respectful to Kyra.”