On 15 July 2026 a girl's hair became trapped in the suction drain of a swimming pool at a bathing establishment in Sestri Levante, in the province of Genoa. The incident occurred while the young girl was in the water: her hair was reportedly sucked into the pool's aspiration system, holding her beneath the surface.

The girl's age is reported inconsistently across sources: some outlets state 11 years, others 13 years. It was not possible to verify the age with certainty at the time of writing.

According to some accounts, the owner of the establishment intervened to free the girl, managing to disentangle her hair from the drain. Other sources speak more generally of the intervention of rescuers. Once brought back to the surface, the girl's condition appeared immediately critical.

Emergency medical personnel from the 118 service began resuscitation efforts on site. Given the severity of her clinical condition, an urgent helicopter transfer was arranged to the Giannina Gaslini pediatric hospital in Genoa, where the girl arrived in critical condition.

The swimming pool was placed under seizure to allow technical inspections. Investigations were launched by the Carabinieri and the Coast Guard, with the aim of reconstructing the exact dynamics of the incident and verifying the proper functioning of the suction system, as well as the compliance of safety equipment with current regulations.

The incident recalls similar accidents that have previously occurred in other Italian locations, in which pool suction systems have caused the entanglement of children's and teenagers' hair or bodies, sometimes with fatal consequences. Such events have repeatedly raised the issue of bathing establishment safety.