A Cromwell girl remains in hospital after being rescued from a pool at the Cromwell Swim Centre and being given CPR yesterday afternoon.
The child, believed to be under 10, was transported by ambulance to Dunstan Hospital, a St John spokesman said.
The pool is a Central Otago District Council-run facility.
Council chief executive Leanne Mash said WorkSafe would be advised about the incident, which was being investigated.
"Our concerns are for the young child and her family and that's where our priorities lie,'' Ms Mash said last night.
She believed the girl was not taking part in a swimming lesson at the time, but was unsure of all the details of the incident.
The child's mother and brother had responded in the first instance to rescue her, followed by pool staff, when it was discovered the girl was "in distress and out of her depth''.
Staff carried out CPR, assisted by a member of the public who had medical training, Ms Mash said.
An ambulance crew arrived and took over from pool staff before taking the girl to hospital, where she remained last night.
It happened about 4pm-4.30pm during a public session. The pool was closed as soon as possible afterwards, which was appropriate following such a serious matter, Ms Mash said. It would reopen today.
There was full complement of staff at the pool at the time.
If children aged 8 or under were at the pool, they had to be supervised by a caregiver aged 15 years or older.
Ms Mash had spoken to the girl's father last night to give support and to offer to meet him to discuss the incident at an appropriate time.
The pool staff had drills and training about similar situations but were shaken by the incident, she said. Counselling would be available for them.
