\u201cWe are grieving the loss alongside the family. No parent should ever have to walk down the path of losing a child. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe had everything going against him that day,\u201d she said, holding back tears. She referred to Gurshabad as a \u201cwee little man\u201d.<\/p>\n
She had since taken time off work as she grappled with the backyard tragedy.<\/p>\n
Her property and pool were fully fenced and complied with Auckland Council regulations.<\/p>\n
The woman, who is partially deaf, was working from home last Monday afternoon, unaware that Gurshabad had come onto her property.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I\u2019d check on the washing and my granddaughter\u2019s pants were wet, so I thought I\u2019d hang them out on the balcony under the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that point, she noticed someone was in her backyard pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw his body submerged under the water and it took me a few seconds to take in what I\u2019d seen … I thought, \u2018F**k, is that really what I think it is?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI nearly had a heart attack. I thought my grandson had died.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ran to her phone and dialled 111 just before 3.30pm. Gurshabad\u2019s parents told the Herald they were notified he had gone missing just one hour beforehand.<\/a><\/p>\n The resident described \u201cbursting\u201d into her grandson\u2019s room, while staying on the phone with police, and being relieved to see he was asleep.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t hear anything. I\u2019m deaf, and my grandson was asleep, and there was no shouting or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n She then ran across to her neighbours\u2019 fence, \u201cbanged loudly\u201d and frantically screamed, \u201cDoes anyone have a missing child?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy neighbour came straight across, and he and my grandson ran to the pool and got the wee little man out,\u201d she said tearfully.<\/p>\n The neighbour started chest compressions on Gurshabad, while her teenage grandson propped his head and checked for a pulse.<\/p>\n Despite their best efforts, Gurshabad had already died. The woman said emergency services told her he could have been in the water for anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes.<\/p>\n