Water Safety Campaign 2007

Aziza's Story

In December of 2002, 10 year-old Aziza Ghori accompanied her father, Amjad Ghori, and her nanny to India on a combination business trip and family vacation. Amjad had chosen the U.S.-based hotel chain they stayed in because of their excellent reputation in the U.S. On the last day of the trip, December 27, 2002, Aziza and her nanny went down to the pool/spa area for a few hours before having to pack and check out of the hotel later that afternoon. This had been their daily routine during the trip so Aziza was very familiar with this pool area and most of the pool and coffee shop staff had grown accustomed to regularly seeing her there.

Around 11:40 in the morning, approximately a half-hour after Aziza had gone down to the pool area, the electricity at the hotel was cut off. Such an event was not unusual as there are frequent power cuts in India . Aziza's father did not think there was anything wrong; he was familiar with the power problems because the company that he worked for had invested in and developed two independent power plants to ease power shortages in the country. Approximately two minutes after the power was lost, Amjad received a phone call from the coffee shop waitress asking him to please come down to the pool area, with no further explanation.

Amjad made his way down two flights of stairs in the dark and rushed into the pool area. The first thing he saw was Aziza's nanny being held back by two people at the side of the pool. She was in hysterics, screaming "I wasn't strong enough to pull her out." A bit further up, Amjad saw Aziza being pulled out onto the deck adjacent to the spa by no less than five men. Rushing to her side, and in complete disbelief at what was happening, Amjad began to administer CPR. While he tried to save his daughter, he intermittently screamed for a doctor to be summoned. When, after several minutes, Aziza was rolled onto her side, her father noticed the blue imprint of the drain where, presumably, Aziza had been held down. The continued CPR did not revive Aziza and a stretcher was brought to carry her to a maternity clinic a block away. When they arrived, the presiding physician confirmed that Aziza had passed away as a result of being held down under water by the suction of the drain.

Prior to this incident, the Ghori family had not been aware of the dangers that spa and pool drains can pose to children and therefore the loss of Aziza was not only horrific, but shocking as well. Aziza was a strong swimmer and a sturdy ten-year old who was almost 5 feet tall and weighed nearly 100 lbs; the equivalent of a small-sized adult, but no match for a 9.5 inch diameter drain that exerted suction pressure in excess of 550 pounds per square inch.

In hindsight, this tragedy could have been easily prevented if certain safety guidelines had been followed. One telling detail that proper safety guidelines were not in place was that the entire hotel's power supply had to be shut off in order to turn off the spa motor. At minimum, there should have been an automatic shut-off valve within a few feet of the spa. Her father and mother, Fauzia, along with other parents across the world whose children have suffered the same fate, have dedicated themselves to educating other parents and the general public on this issue. Knowing that these tragedies are as likely to occur in the U.S. as in developing nations, they are doing everything possible to ensure that existing safety guidelines are made mandatory in this country and not left to the discretion of spa/pool owners and manufacturers.

Through the Aziza Ghori Foundation, Amjad has spent much time and resources raising awareness about the danger of drain entrapment in pools and spas. He is working with Safe Kids Worldwide to ensure that parents know how to prevent their children from suffering the same fate as his young daughter. In addition, Amjad, in tandem with Nancy Baker, has met with two U.S. Senators and their staff to tell the stories of Aziza and Graeme Baker. Their plea to Congress is to enact legislation that will clearly spell out the mandatory requirements for manufacturing, maintaining and owning spas and pools in a way that will protect children from the hazards of drain entrapment and prevent any further fatalities.

Amjad currently resides in Dearborn , Michigan but spends much of his time traveling the world on behalf of Aziza's foundation. The tragic and preventable loss of his daughter has led him to work tirelessly to help other children live full and enriching lives.