Polish tourist dies in swimming pool in Cómpeta

The emergency call was received at around 7.50 am. People at the property had found the man unconscious in the water and managed to pull him out of the pool before the emergency services arrived.

The 112 control centre mobilised the 061 medical emergency centre and Guardia Civil. However, the paramedics were only able to confirm the man’s death; at that stage, the causes that might have led to him losing consciousness in the water were not yet known.

The deceased was a Polish tourist who, according to sources close to the investigation speaking to SUR, had arrived at the holiday cottage on Friday for a planned two-week stay in Cómpeta. He was found dead in the swimming pool just two days after arriving in the town.

The Guardia Civil has launched an investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the death. Pending the results of the post-mortem, one of the initial theories suggests that the man may have suffered a heart attack before losing consciousness, a possibility which, for the time being, has not been officially confirmed and which will have to be determined by the post-mortem examination.

The incident comes during a particularly tragic summer for water-related accidents in the Málaga area. In mid-July, the Andalusian regional government had already recorded 15 deaths linked to incidents at beaches , swimming pools and other swimming areas in the province since the start of 2026, thirteen of which had been recorded since June.

The Axarquía had recorded seven deaths initially classified as drownings, in Iznate, Periana, Nerja, Vélez-Málaga, Rincón de la Victoria and Torrox, where there had been two cases. This figure made the east of Malaga province one of the areas with the highest concentration of drownings since the start of the summer.

In the wake of this spate of deaths, the regional government launched the campaign ‘Don’t wait to see it on the news – in the water, carelessness leads to emergencies’. The Andalusian regional government’s representative in Malaga, Patricia Navarro, warned at the time that “by the time we see a news story of this kind the tragedy has already happened” and insisted on stepping up prevention and surveillance.

The regional government has clarified, however, that not all deaths occurring in the water can automatically be classified as accidental drownings, as some are still under investigation and may be linked to health problems or other circumstances. This caution is particularly relevant in the case of Cómpeta until the findings of the post-mortem are known.

The death in Cómpeta was not the only incident to have occurred at a swimming pool in the province in recent hours. On Monday morning, a 22-year-old man died after being found unconscious in the swimming pool of a holiday home in El Palo, in Malaga city. The National Police are also investigating this second case to determine the cause of death.