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Father and children who drowned in Costa del Sol pool named UK father and children who drowned in Costa del Sol pool named
(about 2 hours later)
Gabriel Diya, his son Praise-Emmanuel Diya and daughter Comfort Diya died at holiday resort Gabriel Diya, his son Praise-Emmanuel and daughter Comfort died at holiday resort
A British father and his two children who drowned in a swimming pool at a holiday resort in the Costa del Sol have been named. Police in Spain have named the three members of a British family who drowned in a hotel swimming pool on the Costa del Sol on Christmas Eve.
Gabriel Diya, 52, his son Praise-Emmanuel Diya, 16, and daughter Comfort Diya, nine, died in the incident on Christmas Eve. They were identified as Gabriel Diya, a 52 year-old London-based pastor,his son Praise-Emmanuel Diya, 16, and daughter Comfort Diya, nine.
Diya’s Facebook account lists him as a manager of Open Heavens London, a Christian religious group with origins in Nigeria, based in Charlton, south-east London. They died at the Club La Costa World resort on the Spanish coast, about two miles to the south of Fuengirola and about 20 miles from Málaga.
It is understood Diya and his daughter are both British, while his son is American. Diya was minister in charge at Open Heavens in Charlton, south-east London, which is part of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), a Nigeria-based network of religious groups.
More details soon … According to Spanish police, Comfort got into difficulty while playing in one of the 21 swimming pools at the resort.
Her father and older brother jumped in to try to save her but also struggled in the water. Despite poolside attempts to resuscitate them, all three died at the scene. A witness told the Mirror that Diya’s wife prayed as CPR was performed on her husband and children.
Postmortem examinations carried out on Christmas Day confirmed death by drowning, Spanish police confirmed.
After the incident police divers retrieved the girl’s swimming hat from the pool’s pump, but found nothing wrong with the pool’s filtration and pump system.
The pool did not have lifeguards on duty at the time of incident, according to local reports. It has since reopened to the public.
The UK’s central office of the RCCG described the death of Diya and his two children as a “tragic accident”.
In a Facebook post it said Diya is survived by another daughter and his wife, Olubunmi Diya, who is an assistant pastor at Open Heavens.
It said: “At this very difficult time, our prayers are with Pastor Gabriel Diya’s family, the parishes that were under his supervision, friends, associates, members of RCCG and the general public.”
Management at the resort said all the staff are “devastated by the tragedy” . It said that “despite the best efforts of our first response team and the emergency services”, the family could not be revived.
In a statement, it added: “The Guardia Civil have carried out a full investigation which found no concerns relating to the pool in question or procedures in place, which leaves us to believe this was a tragic accident which has left everyone surrounding the incident in shock.
“Naturally, our primary concern remains the care and support of the remaining family members; we would therefore request that their privacy be respected at this traumatic time.”
In a Facebook post celebrating new year 2018, Diya wrote: “I am so grateful to the ALMIGHTY GOD, the OWNER of my life, my Maker, my Shield, my Exceeding Joy & my Sustainer for everything and for all things since all these years.”
It is understood Gabriel Diya and Comfort were British citizens, while Praise-Emmanuel was an American citizen.