Spanish police have launched an investigation into the deaths of Pastor Gabriel Diya and his two children all British-Nigerian who died in a swimming pool in Costa del Sol resort in Spain on Christmas Eve.

Pastor Diya is a member of one of the fastest growing Pentecostal churches in the world, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG. He and his family lived in the UK where he was minding a parish of the church.

Part of the briefs of the police was to determine if there was any case of negligence on the part of the hotel, safety measures by the resort for amateur swimmers (the Diya three were said to be learners in the art of swimming) or any other cause, directly or remotely.

The pastor, 53, his nine-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son, were found unresponsive in the pool at Club La Costa World, near Fuengirola, on Christmas Eve.

The young girl got into difficulty in the resort pool and her father and brother both jumped into the pool and tried to save her, Spanish media reported.

However, by the time emergency services arrived all three were unresponsive.

The British family, including the children’s mother and another child, were on vacation when the deaths occurred.

The Foreign Office has confirmed it is supporting a British woman in Spain.

The BBC reported that the father and daughter were both British while the brother was American.

Club La Costa World owners have offered “heartfelt condolences” to the family and said it was helping authorities with their investigation.

Spanish journalist Fernando Torres told the BBC: “The resort workers heard the screaming and they tried to do CPR as well, but they couldn’t help them.

“Then the emergency doctors came and they tried for 30-35 minutes, but they couldn’t revive them.”

A spokesperson for the holiday resort, based near the town of Fuengirola in southern Spain, said: “Management at Club La Costa World resort would like to offer its heartfelt condolences to the family affected by the loss of three family members on 24 December 2019.

“The guests were found unresponsive in one of the resort’s pools. First response teams and emergency services attended and administered first aid.

“The management are assisting the authorities fully with their investigation into the deaths.

“We would like to thank our first response team and the emergency services for their quick and appropriate responses, and our staff for the continuing support of the family at this difficult time.”