A British teenager who was left fighting for his life in a coma after being found unresponsive at the bottom of a swimming pool in Sweden has died.
Sajawal Aziz, 16, from Hounslow, West London, had been in the country for a youth football tournament when the incident occurred on July 19.
The ‘talented’ and ‘vibrant’ youngster had been spotted in the pool in Nolhaga Parkbad in Allingsås by a fellow player who pulled him out of the water, according to reports.
A family friend has claimed that Sajawal had been ‘left to drown for at least five minutes’, with a police investigation now underway into his death.
The boy was placed into a coma at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg and his family remained by his bedside as they lobbied to have him flown back to the UK.
On Friday, a week after the incident at the pool, Sajawal’s local mosque in Hounslow confirmed the news that he had passed away.
His family have returned to the UK, with a friend saying they have been left ‘numb’ by his death.
The ‘bright and kind’ schoolboy had been taking part in the world’s largest youth football tournament, the Gothia Cup, when the incident took place.
His team had gone swimming to ‘raise their spirits’ after losing a match, a friend told The Sun.
Ravleen Arora, whose brother Dilveer had been friends with Sajawal for 12 years, set up a GoFundMe to help the teenager’s family get him home.
She has now alleged that the swimming pool had told her that there was ‘no CCTV’ and ‘no lifeguard on duty’ at the time of the traumatic incident.
This meant Sajawal was ‘drowning for at least five minutes in the deep end’, she said, adding: ‘It’s just very strange… and it’s a mystery how no one spotted him.’
Another British boy is said to have pulled Sajawal out before pool staff administered CPR on the teenager.
He was then flown by helicopter to the hospital in Gothenburg, around 25 miles away.
Doctors had allegedly threatened to turn off his life support, with Sajawal’s family desperately campaigning to get him flown to the UK to receive treatment at home.
Sajawal’s father Tariq had been ‘tireless’ in his efforts to bring him home, with the family reportedly trying to obtain a court injunction to bring him back to a hospital in the UK.
This was reportedly ruled to be ‘unethical’ amid fears that Sajawal’s poor health could mean he would die on the journey.
The teenager’s parents and younger sister are said to be devastated, with Ravleen saying his heartbroken mother has not stopped crying.
Sajawal had been playing for one of 128 English teams who were in the Gothia Cup tournament, which involves almost 2,000 teams from 80 countries.
It remains unclear what led to the schoolboy’s death, with police continuing to investigate the incident.
Spokesperson for the tournament, Malin Fahlén, said at the time that staff were ‘extremely concerned and saddened’ by events.
It is the second year in a row that such an incident has occurred at Nolhaga Parkbad during the tournament, Swedish newspaper Expressen reports.
Last year, an Ethiopian player, 15, died after being found at the bottom of the pool.
Mr Ehnfors said: ‘It is usually said that lightning does not strike twice in the same place, but in this case it feels like it has.
‘But we are trying to focus on the situation that we have right now, then we will of course analyse to see what if any parallels there are to last year’s accident.’
A FCDO Spokesperson said: ‘We are providing consular support to the family of a British national who has died in Sweden.’