A British mother whose husband and two children drowned in a swimming pool on a family holiday in Spain has refuted claims the three of them did not know how to swim.
The tragedy took place on Christmas Eve as the family-of-five was holidaying at Club La Costa World in the southern Spanish resort of Mijas.
In a statement posted on Friday by the family's London-based church, Olubunmi Diya suggested there was something wrong with the pool at the time as "all three of them knew how to swim".
She said the children were "dragged" into a deeper part of the pool and called for help when they could not get out.
Her husband then went into the water, while she sought help from the hotel apartments.
The swimming pool at Club La Costa World resort in Spain where a father and his two children died on Christmas Eve. Source: AAP
"By the time assistance came, the three of them were under the water.
"I believe something was wrong with the pool that must have made swimming difficult for them at that point in time."
But Club La Costa World said in a statement that police investigations into the tragedy had found the pool was "working normally and there was no malfunction of any kind".
"Our sympathies remain with the family at what we understand must be a stressful and desperately upsetting time for them."
Gabriel Diya, 52, a Christian pastor, died alongside his nine-year-old daughter Comfort and his 16-year-old son Praise-Emmanuel, who holds American nationality.
"We are deeply shocked, saddened and struggling to come to terms with their passing," Ms Diya added.
Sources close to the Spanish investigation had earlier said that a surviving sister had told police that the three did not know how to swim.
Police had examined the pool's filters to see if the young girl had somehow been sucked in by the water purification system, a spokesman said.
The pool reopened on Thursday, according to footage shown on Spanish national television.
