Bestway, Intex, and Polygroup Recall Certain Above-Ground Pools 48 Inches and Taller Due to Drowning Hazard; Nine Deaths Reported; Five Million Pools Sold Since 2002

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #25393) was formally reported on July 21, 2025. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Bestway (Hong Kong) International Ltd. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 5 million (In addition, approximately 266,000 were sold in Canada) units are affected, placing this recall in the million-unit bracket that typically triggers nationwide consumer alerts and retailer sweeps.

The documented reason for this recall is: The compression strap that surrounds the outside of the pool legs may create a foothold, allowing a child access to the pool, posing a drowning risk. Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Consumers should contact Bestway, Intex or Polygroup to request a repair kit. In the interim consumers should ensure that children cannot access the pool unattended or, alternatively, drain the pool … — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 6 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 1 year old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.