Council policy changed after the swimmer’s death

On Monday, a court heard that the council’s underwater swimming policy had changed after a man died in a swimming pool at a leisure center in Armagh.

Christopher Rogers, who was 20, died during a swimming session at Orchard Leisure Center in April 2017.

Cathal Peter Forrest McVeigh, 35, of Dunamony Road, Dungannon, James Monaghan, 26, of Folly Lane, Armagh, and William Holden, 26, of Unshinagh Lane, Portadown, were on duty on the night of Rogers’ death.

The charge against them stated that “as an employee, they (failed) to exercise due care for the health and safety of other persons who may be affected by (their) actions or omissions at work.”

Newry Crown Court has already heard that on the day of his death, Mr Rogers swam underwater for about a minute before resurfacing.

He then went to the bottom of the pool and lay there for five minutes and 14 seconds before a rescue attempt was made.

He was later pronounced dead.

The coroner said he lost consciousness from lack of oxygen.

Paul Murphy, a former swimming instructor at the center who also trained and assessed lifeguards, told the court that the training was based on guidance from a Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) book and that the curriculum was updated every 18 to 24 months.

Outlining the RLSS curriculum, he said it made no reference to “shallow water power outages” in 2017 and lifeguards were not trained on the subject.

During the hearing, Murphy also agreed that there was a change in the municipality’s swimming pool policy after Rodgers’ death.

This meant swimmers were not allowed to swim underwater for more than 15 meters.

The court also heard testimony from Doris Sherry, an officer on duty at the center responsible for staff induction.

She agreed that at the time the RLSS book, which was the basis for pool lifeguard training, “didn’t mention freezing in shallow water, hypoxia or anything like that.”

She also said she knew Mr. Rogers as an “athletic” and “prolific swimmer.”

Ms Sherry also confirmed he was a lifeguard “and had the same standard training” as the defendants in assessing potential dangers and threats.

The process continues.