Lifeguards acquitted in pool drowning incident

Munich. In the Olympic swimming pool in 2008 a 16-year-old boy drowned. For the lifeguards on duty that day, the hearing in the court has now ended with their acquittal. Roland B., 49, the former lifeguard was previously charged with failure to assist the boy.

On the 31st August 2008 in the Olympic five-meter deep diving pool, there were a number of young people. They first noted "something dark" at the bottom. From this point on, the descriptions of the parties vary widely. The boys urgently asked the lifeguard Roland B to help . The guard just dropped a brief glimpse into the pool, saying that "there is nothing, only a swimsuit." Only when the body was actually identified and people started to panic, did the lifeguards come to the pool and finally jump in to 'save' him.

Roland B. vehemently denies this statement, as well as all the other allegations.  "This is definitely not true."  The 16-year-old orphan from Nigeria died ten days later in a hospital. Following the testimony of a legal physician, he was suffering from a pathological change of heart.  "It may be a sudden death in the water, not caused by ddrowning," said the doctor. The prosecutor called for a penalty, but the judge acquitted Roland B. The 49-year-old has voluntarily given up his job as a lifeguard after the accident and is currently retraining.