Lifeguards Stand Trial as Swimmer’s Tragic Death Takes Center Stage

During the trial involving three lifeguards concerning the fatal incident of a swimmer, it was revealed that Christopher Rogers remained at the bottom of the pool for five minutes prior to any rescue efforts being made.

Mr. Rogers, aged 20, tragically died while swimming at the Orchard Leisure Centre in Armagh in April 2017.

Cathal Peter Forrest McVeigh, 35, residing on Dunamony Road in Dungannon, along with James Monaghan, 26, of Folly Lane in Armagh and William Holden, 26, from Unshinagh Lane in Portadown were responsible for watching over the pool on the evening of Mr. Rogers’ death.

The formal allegations against these individuals assert that “as employees, [they] neglected to exercise reasonable caution for the well-being and safety of others who might be impacted by [their] actions or inactions while at work”.

All three have entered pleas of not guilty.

Newry Crown Court was informed that on the day of his passing, Mr. Rogers, a proficient swimmer, had spent approximately one minute swimming underwater before resurfacing.

Subsequently, he submerged to the bottom of the pool where he remained for five minutes and 14 seconds before a rescue was attempted.

He was found unresponsive and later declared dead.

A coroner indicated that he had lost consciousness owing to insufficient oxygen.

On Thursday, the court viewed four different angles of the CCTV footage related to the event. It displayed the actions of Mr. Rogers and the lifeguards.

The prosecution maintained that the defendants did not fulfill their responsibilities properly, as evidenced by the prolonged delay before rescue actions were initiated alongside other oversights in their roles.

Prosecuting attorney Liam McCollum argued that while five minutes might seem brief in some contexts, like waiting for a bus, “for someone to be at the base of a pool, not surfacing – five minutes and 14 seconds is alarmingly long”.

Addressing what the three accused were engaged in during the incident, he informed the jury that Mr. Holden occupied the lifeguard station, while Mr. McVeigh and Mr. Monaghan were situated poolside, “engaged in conversation at the edge of the deep end”.

“As they conversed, Mr. Rogers emerged from the water only to submerge again, having experienced a hypoxic blackout,” Mr. McCollum elaborated.

The attorney stated that within the next three minutes, Mr. Monaghan was seen intermittently, yet was alongside Mr. McVeigh when he employed a metal pole to strike the steps “to provoke a reaction from Mr. Rogers”.

“It appeared that there was no response,” the jury was informed.

After a minute, Mr. McCollum noted that Mr. McVeigh indicated to another swimmer to check on Mr. Rogers, who supposedly “gave a thumbs up”.

He further articulated that one minute later, Mr. McVeigh motioned to Mr. Holden in the lifeguard chair, who then exited to retrieve a radio, just seconds later, two bystanders “dove under” and rescued Mr. Rogers from the pool bottom.

Mr. McCollum conveyed to the court that all three defendants neglected their lifeguard responsibilities and pointed out sections from the lifeguard manual that detailed various procedures which he claimed were simply “common sense”.

“Their role was to safeguard lives…their duty was to be attentive to the safety of everyone in the pool and to rescue anyone in distress,” remarked Mr. McCollum.

“The prosecution asserts that it is evident they did not perform their responsibilities accurately due to the excessive time elapsed from Mr. Rogers reaching the pool’s bottom to any rescue efforts being made.”

Previously, a witness to the event, Dr. Mark Haynes, testified he had been present at the pool volunteering for his children’s swimming club.

He recalled observing Christopher Rogers performing breath-holding exercises underwater, during which he remained still.

“I remember someone swimming down and subsequently indicating that Christopher had responded with a thumbs up.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) informed BBC News NI that Christopher Roger’s demise was classified as non-suspicious right after the occurrence in April 2017.

The agency stated it conducted investigations, which included taking statements, on behalf of the coroner.

In January 2018, the situation was sent back to the police by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which suspected there might be grounds for criminal acts. The inquiry was subsequently pursued collaboratively.

The trial is anticipated to endure for a maximum of two weeks and will receive testimonies from over 30 witnesses.

The trial is scheduled to proceed on Friday.