Leo’s case is not the first. In 2003, Grupo Xcaret was sued for another child’s death sucked into a pool tube.
QUINTANA ROO Mexico (marcrixnoticias) – Leonardo, 13 yeas-old was vacationing in Quintana Roo with his family. On March 27, he visited one of Grupo Xcaret parks, where he was swimming with his father, Miguel Angel Luna Calvo, in the Rio de Sal, one of the aquatic attractions of the Xenses park. While having fun, he was sucked by a water filter, whose current dragged him and caused him serious injuries that led him to be hospitalized in a private clinic in Playa del Carmen, municipality of Solidaridad. He later died. His case would not be the only one.
After Leo’s case went viral, a mother recalled that she went through a similar situation seven years ago and assured that she did not get an answer. Juana N. accused that her son, Hugo Axel, who was 11 years old, lost his life on an excursion in Xcaret and that she was told that during a tour, he fell from a considerable height and died.
According to the woman, the dome the child was in collapsed. She also accused that the park did not give her an answer or initiate an investigation. In statements taken up by Marcrixnoticias, the woman assured that the necropsy recorded that the child died of cardiac arrest and skull fracture.
Brent Midlock case
Expansión.Mx published that the group was sued for 100 million dollars for the Xcaret complex installations when Brent, a foreign child, was sucked into the filtration system of a swimming pool.
According to the publication, the Midlock family believed that the eight-year-old had been abducted while swimming in the pool. They report that although the staff found him four hours later, they waited for all the guests to finish their dinner in the restaurant overlooking the pool. For 24 hours, the Midlock family believed their eight-year-old son Brent had been abducted while swimming in the pool. His arms were outstretched when they found him; his head, chest, and arms were attached to his legs. A pressure of 600 pounds per square foot had sucked him onto his back and made him disappear in less than a second in a tube 30 centimeters in diameter.
Nancy and Andre Midlock filed a lawsuit in 2003 against the Gran Flamenco Hotel owners, Grupo Xcaret, and its partners. The lawsuit for 100 million dollars is pending in an Illinois court.
Another incident
In a video that also went viral in social networks, a user identified as Clarissa assured that her partner was also “pulled” by the attraction in which Leo died.
Leo’s case.
The minor and his family, originally from Durango, were celebrating that they had beaten Covid-19. After the accident, Leonardo received first aid from his father, Miguel Angel, a cardiologist, who took him to a private clinic for medical attention; however, the following day, March 28, the boy died.
According to the Attorney General’s Office of Quintana Roo, the clinic reported the death of the minor as “death by submersion,” and an investigation file was opened “for the crime of culpable homicide.”
Leonardo’s body was taken to the Forensic Medical Service at 7:25 p.m. on March 28 to perform an autopsy and determine the cause of death. Still, this procedure was stopped “because the father requested a waiver and granted a legal pardon.”
Forced to sign the pardon
In this regard, Leonardo’s father informed that he was forced to grant the pardon by personnel of the State Prosecutor’s Office, who pressured him to carry out this procedure, with the condition that if he did not do so, the minor’s body would not be handed over to him. On March 30, Leonardo’s father denounced the case on social networks. He indicated that his son’s death was due to negligence. He held the Xcaret company responsible for the Xenses park’s operation responsible for what happened to his son.
On Thursday, April 1, Grupo Xcaret stated in a press release that the accident was due to an unfortunate “human error” and that they are collaborating with the authorities to clarify the minor’s death and that the attraction was closed.
It should be noted that there is a file of an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office of Quintana Roo, which was initiated on March 28 for the crime of negligent homicide. Miguel Angel Luna commented on his son’s case that he would take legal action, despite promising his wife that he would not do so to prevent a tragedy like the one that affected his family and prevents an accident of this type from happening again.