5 Million Above Ground Pools Recalled After 9 Children Die

You might want to think twice before letting your kids swim in an above-ground pool.

Nearly 5 million above-ground pools have been recalled after nine children have died while swimming in them.

Polygroup, Bestway, and Intex have recalled 5 million above-ground pools combined.

Take a look:

RECALL: Bestway, Intex & Polygroup recall 5 million above ground pools 48 inches and taller with compression straps running on the outside of the pool legs that may create a foothold, allowing a child access to the pool; drowning hazard. 9 deaths reported: https://t.co/sDa3bQJoqA pic.twitter.com/JFLYcJGjGn

— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) July 21, 2025

ABC News reported more on the recall:

Millions of above-ground pools sold at major retailers nationwide are being recalled following the deaths of nine children, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Bestway, Intex and Polygroup, along with the CPSC, announced the recall of approximately 5 million pools on July 21, citing a drowning hazard.

The CPSC said it believes there have been nine deaths of children between 22 months old and 3 years old after the kids gained access to the pools through footholds created by the pools’ compression straps. The children’s deaths occurred between 2007 and 2022 in California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin.

The CPSC said it also knows of three additional incidents that unfolded in 2011 and 2012 where children who had accessed the pools had previously reported using the compression straps to enter the pools.

Bestway, Intex, and Polygroup are recalling about 5 million above-ground pools because the pools’ compression straps can create a foothold for children to access the pools, leading to the risk of drowning.

Bestway, Intex, and Polygroup are recalling about 5 million above-ground pools because the pools’ compression straps can create a foothold for children to access the pools, leading to the risk of drowning.

The recall impacts certain above-ground pools that have been sold since 2002. The recalled pools are 48 inches or taller and have compression straps running along the outside and over the vertical support legs of the pool.

Millions of backyard above-ground swimming pools are being recalled after nine child deaths have been linked to a flaw companies have known existed since 2023. The children who died were between 22 months and 3 years old, according to the Consumer… https://t.co/6ZdLwmJRgO pic.twitter.com/B8u7138uB6

— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) July 22, 2025

Walmart was previously sued over a death related to an Intex pool, per PSN:

A woman in Philadelphia has filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart after her son drowned in an inflatable pool purchased from the retail giant.

Marisol Maldonado filed the claim in June of last year, seeking recovery of damages for the death of her son in 2006. The case is currently in a pre-trial phase of investigating manufacturing standards, labeling and related lawsuits.

Maldonado’s complaint cites the inflatable pool as defective and alleges negligence on the part of Wal-Mart.
“The instructions and warnings don’t seem to tell the consumers that you really need to have some kind of fence, not only for other people … but your own kids.” said Mike Rooney, principal a Rooney & Rooney, LLP, who is representing Maldonado.

However, the actual manufacturer of the pool is still being investigated because the product was thrown away by the victim’s grandmother shortly after the incident.

Aqua Leisure Industries and Intex Recreation Corp. initially were named as defendants in the lawsuit because they supplied inflatable pools to Wal-Mart. But it was later determined that the more likely manufacturer was General Foam Plastics. General Foam has been named in at least two other lawsuits involving product liability and big-box stores. The Norfolk, Va.-based manufacturer was named alongside KMart as a defendant in two separate cases: a complaint over ladder injuries in 1997 and a cover-related drowning lawsuit in 2006.