Two foreign nationals died and two people were injured after an electrical current passed through a swimming pool at a five-star hotel in Bengaluru’s Halasuru police station limits on Friday night, according to police. The incident occurred at around 10pm at the hotel’s third-floor swimming pool, where the two deceased guests had reportedly entered the facility.
The deceased have been identified as Oriat, 45, from Slovakia, and Alexander Maxmillion, 59, from Germany. The injured persons are Matthew, 41, an American national, and Rahul Tiwari, 28, who worked as a lifeguard at the hotel. Both were admitted to Manipal Hospital for treatment, police said.
Police said Oriat and Alexander had been staying at the hotel for the past few days. They were in the swimming pool when the electrical current passed through the water, killing both of them. Matthew and Tiwari were injured while attempting to rescue them, according to the police account.
After receiving information about the incident, police officers visited the hotel and inspected the site. The bodies were sent to a hospital for post-mortem examinations. Police also examined the electrical connections and technical systems around the pool as part of the initial investigation.
The incident has also led to a complaint from Alexander Maxmillion’s wife at Halasuru police station. The complaint alleges that negligence by the hotel management and staff caused the deaths. Based on the complaint, police registered a case under various sections against the hotel management and maintenance personnel, and an investigation is under way.
The case places the hotel’s pool-side electrical infrastructure and maintenance arrangements at the centre of the investigation. Police said personnel from Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited, or Bescom, also visited the hotel to inspect the electrical systems. Further action will be taken after Bescom submits its report, police said.
The report is significant beyond the immediate deaths because the incident occurred in a managed commercial facility with a swimming pool, electrical installations and designated safety staff. The police investigation and the Bescom inspection are expected to establish how electricity reached the pool, whether the relevant systems were functioning properly and whether required safety procedures were followed. Those questions remain under investigation and have not been conclusively answered in the available report.
The injured American guest and the lifeguard remain part of the police case as investigators record the circumstances of the rescue attempt and assess the technical systems surrounding the pool. The next formal steps will follow the post-mortem examinations, the Bescom inspection report and the continuing investigation into the hotel management and maintenance staff.
