Mother says ‘something was wrong with the pool’ that claimed her son, daughter and husband’s lives on Spain’s Costa del Sol

THE mother who lost two children and her husband on Christmas Eve has claimed ‘something was wrong with the pool’ where the three of them tragically drowned on Spain’s Costa del Sol.

In a statement made on Friday, Olubunmi Diya said a malfunction or freak occurrence must have ‘made swimming difficult for them at that point in time’.

Diya then contradicted official police conclusions, which blamed the three Britons’ ‘inability to swim’ as the cause of their death by drowning.

“We never informed the police or anyone that the family members could not swim,” the shocking statement read.

 “The whole family, all five of us, went to the pool together and were all present when the incident occurred. The children were not left unattended. We followed the instructions displayed by the poolside at all times.

“Our family are utterly heartbroken by the events last Tuesday but we are comforted and strengthened by our strong faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are deeply shocked, saddened and struggling to come to terms with their passing.

“They all brought a joy and love to the world and to everyone that crossed their path. We love them all dearly, will always remember them and miss them greatly in our hearts.”

It comes as an official report from the Policía Judicial de Mijas said two family members of the Diya family – the ‘only eyewitnesses’ – had explicitly told them father Gabriel Diya, 52, Praise-Emmanuel, 16, and Comfort, 9, lacked swimming skills.

“All investigations, including testimony from the two family members, the only eyewitnesses, point to a tragic accident caused by the victim’s lack of ability to swim when they entered the deep-end of the swimming pool,” the report stated.

The latest statement released today by hotel Club La Costa World, where the incident took place, said: 

“Naturally we have heard the comments made on behalf of Mrs Diya in a widely publicised statement to the media.

“The claims made in that statement are directly at odds with the findings of the police report. This makes it clear that their exhaustive investigations have confirmed the pool was working normally and there was no malfunction of any kind.

“The police report containing full findings has been passed to us and also made public by the police as PDF attached, with the unofficial translation below. We would emphasise that these are findings of the police investigation and not our own internal findings as has been wrongly reported by some media.

“CLC can confirm that the pool remains closed out of respect to the victims of this tragedy and that guests have been, and are being, directed to other pools.

“Our sympathies remain with the family at what we understand must be a stressful and desperately upsetting time for them.”

UPDATE: This article has been edited to include the latest statement from CLC World Resorts made at 4.15pm today