Emirati drowns moments before swimming lesson in Ajman

Humaid Al Mandoos, 21, was practising for his lesson at a sports club

An Emirati man drowned in a pool in Ajman moments before his swimming lesson was due to begin.

Humaid Al Mandoos, 21, was preparing for his lesson at a sports club in Al Jerf on Saturday when he drowned.

“It was his fourth or fifth swimming lesson and he was very excited to learn swimming and be able to swim like a professional,” said his cousin, Ali Al Mandoos.

“He was practising swimming before the class when he suddenly noticed that he reached a deep area where he panicked and didn’t know what to do.

"He drowned without anyone noticing him."

Mr Al Mandoos said his cousin, who lived in Hamidiya, was pulled from the water after he had been under for almost 10 minutes.

He said the family were devastated by the loss of their youngest son,

“It is hard to believe that Humaid is no longer with us," Mr Al Mandoos said. “He was loved by everyone and was kind to everybody.”

Humaid was an undergraduate student in his third year at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Sharjah. He was studying information technology.

“He was going to graduate from college next year and was so excited about it,” Mr Al Mandoos said.

He said police are still investigating the incident and will be checking CCTV footage from within the club.

Al Mandoos was buried after asr prayers on Monday in Al Jerf cemetery.

Tributes poured in on Twitter using the Arabic hashtag #Humaid_Almandoos.

A teenage Emirati boy was also buried on Monday after he drowned at Umbrella Beach in Fujairah

The boy, 17, was swimming with his brothers when he went under.

Paramedics were unable to resuscitate him on the beach and he was buried following funeral prayers at Martyr Nasser Al Bloushi Mosque.