Preliminary autopsy results are expected Thursday in the death of an eight-year-old girl at a city-run swimming pool in Kanata over the weekend.
Edine Ilunga was swimming at a birthday party at Kanata Leisure Centre Saturday night when lifeguards found her floating face-down in the wave pool.
Although lifeguards and paramedics worked to revive Edine, she died a short time later at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
"I'm missing her. I wish she was here . . . We loved her, she was a source of strength for the entire family," her father Edward Ilunga told CTV Ottawa.
"It's rare to see her crying or angry, most of the time she was always smiling . . . I think she was trying to energize the family spirit, just a happy family."
The Ilunga family wants everyone to know what a beautiful young spirit Edine had. Although she was only eight years old, her father says she always looked out for others and made sure they were taken care of.
"She has a big heart of caring about others . . . she would wake up in the morning and pour the cereal for her brothers, make the table and then make the food ready for them before they go to school," he said.
"It's a big loss not just for me but for all the family; for all the friends, whether from school or in the community or from church, she was an engaged person."
Officials say autopsy results are expected to reveal whether Edine drowned or suffered an injury or illness.
The incident has since sparked a review of safety procedures at all city-run swimming pools. If Edine is found to have drowned, it will be the first drowning at a City of Ottawa-run pool.
A funeral for Edine is scheduled for Saturday.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee
