The city's health department has indefinitely shut down all of the pools at the Korean mega-spa Spa Castle in College Point, Queens, concluding a special investigation launched earlier this month after a six-year-old girl's hair became stuck in a pool vent, nearly causing her to drown. Health officials said they acquired surveillance footage of the incident on Monday, which shows inadequate resuscitation efforts by spa staff.
The department also found that the pool vents drew "excessive" suction—strong enough to pull the victim under water and hold her there—and that both spa pools had been altered without approvals.
Witnesses told ABC that the girl's hair got stuck in an underwater vent on the afternoon of February 19th, and that she was blue when she was pulled out of the water. Another spa patron reportedly performed CPR on her, although Spa Castle said later that day that three employees present today were certified in CPR.
"The Health Department has ordered the closure of all pools at Spa Castle in Queens after an ongoing investigation found the facility was not following safety standards," said DOH spokesman Chris Miller in a statement. "The facility's pools will remain closed until a revised safety plan has been put into place, and the Health Department is satisfied that Spa Castle is compliant."
EMS responded to the scene at 1:43 p.m. on February 19th, according to the FDNY. Upon arrival, they encountered the six-year-old girl already removed from the water. She was transported to New York-Presbyterian Queens in serious condition.
Spa Castle has been slapped with numerous health and safety violations in the past, for failing to maintain an up-to-date safety plan and falling below the required number of pool supervisors. In December 2014, after an elderly man was discovered face down in a hot tub at Spa Castle in Queens and later died—first responders said he likely suffered a heart attack—witnesses said that no one immediately noticed when he went under, and spa staff had to go get a booklet with instructions on how to perform CPR.
Spa Castle spokesperson Stephanie Chon stated after that incident that "safety precautions are clearly posted in our facilities and the staff in the area is CPR certified."
Spa Castle's slightly pricier midtown location, Premier 57, was shut down last January only a month after it opened, when the health department found it to be operating without a permit. It took about six months for the operation to get its act together. Unlike the Queen's location, Premier 57 does not allow children under the age of 10 in its facilities.
Spa Castle did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its emergency response and CPR protocols, or its plans for updating its pools and safety plan.
[UPDATE 3:30 p.m.]: A spokeswoman for Spa Castle said this afternoon that the child was pulled from the jet pool by another patron, and added that the pool was a posted no-swimming zone.
"The pools at Spa Castle College Point will be closed until a third party analysis is complete," said the spokeswoman in a statement. "Spa Castle remains in compliance with all applicable laws.... Our staff is trained to follow safety protocol and patron safety precautions are clearly posted in our facilities. When our facility has received a citation, the issue has been swiftly and purposefully corrected."
