British three-year-old drowns after falling into a pool in Spain

A British child has drowned after falling into a swimming pool on Spain's Costa del Sol.

Emergency responders tried to save the three-year-old girl after receiving an emergency call around midday today but there was nothing they could do to save her and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

A routine police investigation into the tragedy has been launched, although there is nothing at this stage to suggest the youngster's death was anything but accidental.

The country house where the drama occurred lies just off the Costa del Sol between the coastal town of Torrox and the inland town of Sayalonga in an area known as Pago de Montealegre.

It has not yet been confirmed if she was holidaying at the house with her parents or lived at the property, although one local report described it as the family home and said the youngster had two older siblings who were attending a local school.

Well-placed sources said they were looking at the possibility the girl fell into the pool after straying outside without her mum and dad realising.

Torrox mayor Oscar Medina described the girl's death as a 'tragic incident', adding: 'I offer my sincere and profound condolences to the family in the name of all local residents.'

A spokesman for a regional government-run emergency coordination centre said: 'A three-year-old girl has died today in a swimming pool in the Torrox area of the province of Malaga.

'We received a call at 12.04pm today alerting us to the fact a minor had been recovered from a pool at a property between Torrox and Sayalonga and attempts were being made to resuscitate her.

'Emergency responders were immediately activated. A helicopter was mobilised along with the Civil Guard, local town-hall employed police and health professionals.

'They later confirmed the little girl had died without offering any more details about the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.'