Conrad Bengaluru Pool Electrocution Suspected: Two Foreign Guests Dead, Cause of the Leakage Still Under Investigation

The incident happened between 5.15 pm and 5.30 pm at the pool on the hotel's third floor, The New Indian Express reported. According to The Hindu, Conrad Bengaluru is operated by the Hilton Group.

Police identified the two men who died as a 57-year-old German national and a 45-year-old Slovak national. The German guest was a Lufthansa crew member on a layover. The Slovak guest was in India on holiday with his wife, according to her complaint.

She heard screams from the pool and found her husband motionless in the water, the complaint says. A hotel staff member who jumped in to rescue him also suffered an electric shock. Staff then switched off the power supply and pulled everyone out of the water before trying to revive them, The Indian Express reported.

A 41-year-old American guest and the hotel's 28-year-old pool attendant, who also worked as the lifeguard, were injured trying to help, the paper reported. All four were taken to Manipal Hospital on Old Airport Road.

The German guest was brought dead, the hospital said, as NDTV reported. The Slovak guest could not be saved despite CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Both injured men have since been discharged, according to The Indian Express.

Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told reporters that investigators suspect an electrical leakage into the pool. Technical and Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO) teams inspected the sealed area. He said the police were awaiting the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report and the post-mortem findings, The Indian Express reported on 1 November.

By 3 November, the post-mortems had been completed, the paper reported.

According to hotel staff, the pool apparently became electrified soon after its evening lights came on, Hindustan Times reported.

The police asked the electrical inspectorate to examine the hotel's installations, the paper added. That covers the pool's underwater lighting. It also covers whether the pool circuit had automatic protection to cut the supply on a fault.

The latest report points to the pool railing. A preliminary inquiry suggests the victims may have been electrocuted by a reverse flow of current through the railing, The Indian Express reported on 3 November.

Sources told the paper that investigators found current at the site even after the supply had been switched off. How it reached the railing is yet to be established.

The pool's lighting runs at low voltage, which would not normally be enough to kill, the paper added. That is why the police are also checking for a sudden voltage surge in the pool's electrical system.

The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) said the incident was not caused by any fault on its side, The New Indian Express reported. A BESCOM official said the earthing may have been faulty, Hindustan Times reported.

The Slovak guest's wife filed the complaint at Halasuru police station, alleging negligence by the hotel management, The Indian Express reported. Police registered the case under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which covers causing death by negligence.

Police have since questioned the hotel's general manager and technical staff, among other employees. Their questions covered the pool's maintenance and the condition of its electrical installations, the paper reported on 3 November.

The hotel's website lists the pool as closed for maintenance from 31 October to 30 November, NDTV Profit reported.

A swimming pool brings electrical equipment such as underwater lights and circulation pumps into close contact with water. Water conducts electricity, a source told Deccan Herald. Pool lighting therefore calls for good-quality equipment and proper precautions, both in the water and around it.

Ramesh C heads the Karnataka State Licensed Electrical Contractors' Association. He told Deccan Herald that most large hotels and apartment complexes would already have earth leakage circuit breakers (ELCBs) installed. An ELCB is a breaker that trips when current leaks to earth.

Even so, he said, many other factors need checking. A fault in the pool's water pump or its motor can also cause such an accident.

This is not the first such case in Bengaluru. In December 2023, a child died of an electric shock at an apartment complex pool on Varthur-Gunjur Road. The Electrical Inspectorate found that an LED strip driver powering the pool lights had caused the leak, Deccan Herald reported.

The Hindu noted that the deaths raise questions about electrical safety and emergency preparedness at swimming pools, especially in luxury hotels.

The cause at Conrad is still under investigation. Even so, the points under investigation are worth checking at any pool, whether in a hotel, a club or a housing society.

Below are the checks that follow from what has been reported so far:

• Get the underwater and deck lighting inspected: The Conrad pool's underwater lighting is under examination, and the 2023 Varthur leak came from an LED driver. Have a licensed electrical contractor open the light fittings and their drivers and check them for damage or water inside.
• Confirm the automatic cut-off on every pool circuit: The police want to know whether the Conrad pool circuit had protection that cuts the supply on a fault. Ask a licensed electrical contractor what automatic protection each pool circuit has, and have it tested on a fixed schedule with the result recorded.
• Include the pump and its motor: The contractors' association president says pump and motor faults can cause such accidents too. The pump room belongs in the same inspection as the lights.
• Get the earthing measured: A BESCOM official has said the earthing at Conrad may have been faulty. In simple terms, earthing gives fault current a safe path away from people. Have the earth connections at the pool checked, and the earth pits measured through earth pit testing rather than judged by eye.
• Check the railings and ladders: The preliminary inquiry at Conrad suggests current may have reached the pool railing. Have every metal railing and ladder at the pool checked for any connection that could make it live.
• Keep dated maintenance records: Hindustan Times reported that the police will examine the Conrad pool's maintenance records. Record every check and repair with the date and the name of the person who did it.
• Train staff to cut the power before a rescue: At Conrad, a staff member who jumped in to help also suffered a shock, according to the complaint. Pool staff should know where the pool's supply is switched off, and switch it off before anyone enters the water.
• Treat any shock as an emergency: If anyone feels even a mild shock in or near the pool, get everyone out of the water. Keep the supply off until a licensed electrical contractor has found the cause.

Note that none of these checks explains what happened at Conrad. That answer will come from the technical and forensic reports.

In India, the CEA (MSES) Regulations, 2023 place the duty of safe operation and maintenance on the owner of an installation. MSES stands for Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply.

Below are the duties that can apply to a hotel or a housing society:

• Periodic inspection: Periodic electrical inspection and testing of installations is mandatory for certain categories of consumers under the CEA (MSES) Regulations, 2023.
• Who inspects: A Chartered Electrical Safety Engineer (CESE) conducts the electrical safety inspection up to the notified voltage.
• Utility rules: Many state electricity boards and DISCOMs (electricity distribution companies) have made electrical safety audits mandatory above certain connected-load thresholds.

At PowerTech, the electrical safety audit report lists the gaps in each system, with recommendations in order of priority. Every observation cites the relevant reference from the CEA (MSES) Regulations, 2023.

PowerTech has conducted 1,200+ energy and safety audits since 2014, including 500+ electrical safety audits. We are headquartered in Pune, with offices in Mumbai and Nashik. Our in-house Chartered Electrical Safety Engineer is authorised by the Government of Maharashtra under Regulation 6 of the CEA (MSES) Regulations, 2023, registration number MAHCESE0001119052023.

Our electrical safety audit covers the pool's own equipment, from the underwater lights and drivers to the pumps and motors. We check the railings and ladders too, and test that the earth leakage breakers trip. Upstream, the audit runs from the incoming supply and panels through the cables and earthing system to the distribution boards, using calibrated instruments.

We offer the following audit and compliance services:

• Electrical Safety Audit
• Thermography
• Earth Pit

Get In Touch

If your building has a pool, send us your single line diagram and connected load. We reply within one working day, and our team travels from three offices to sites across India.

Book an electrical safety audit to have your pool and the installation that feeds it checked against the CEA (MSES) Regulations, 2023.

• The Hindu (Imran Gowhar), updated 2 November 2026, 7:40 pm IST: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/explainer-on-bengaluru-hotel-conrad-swimming-pool-incident/article71655524.ece
• The Indian Express (Atiya Firdos), updated 1 November 2026, 1:09 am IST: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/german-slovakian-die-bengaluru-conrad-hotel-swimming-pool-10944525/
• The Indian Express (Atiya Firdos), updated 3 November 2026, 8:04 pm IST: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/conrad-hotel-pool-electrocution-deaths-probe-10949195/
• The New Indian Express (Express News Service), updated 1 November 2026, 7:33 am: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2026/Nov/01/two-foreigners-electrocuted-at-5-star-hotel-pool-in-bengaluru
• Hindustan Times (Coovercolly Indresh), updated 1 November 2026, 7:57 am IST: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/2-foreign-nationals-die-in-suspected-electrocution-at-bengaluru-hotel-pool-german-airline-crew-slovak-ibm-project-manager-101793429552962.html
• NDTV (NDTV News Desk), published 31 October 2026, 5:56 pm IST: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bengaluru-5-star-hotels-1st-statement-on-pool-deaths-cause-not-established-12263752
• NDTV Profit (Altaf Hussain), published 31 October 2026, 10:18 pm IST: https://www.ndtvprofit.com/india/after-2-foreign-guests-die-in-pool-bengalurus-conrad-hotel-says-cause-not-yet-established-12264787
• Deccan Herald (DHNS), published 1 November 2026, 3:45 am IST: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/pool-lighting-suspected-in-bengaluru-swimming-pool-electrocution-deaths-4202887