Dharmvir Singh, 38, and Gurjinder Singh, 65, leapt into the pool at a Gold Coast hotel to try to save the younger man’s child on Sunday.

The child had been playing on the step of the pool before losing their footing and falling into deeper water.

When the father and grandfather tried to save the toddler, they got into trouble in the water themselves.

Royal Life Saving chief executive Justin Scarr said it was tragic the two men died rescuing a young child.

Mr Scarr said there have been a number of drownings in hotel or motel swimming pools over the past few years.

He said there is a need to look more closely at the safety guidelines of these pools.

“It may be that the current regime, signing and fencing is not enough and more needs to be done, given a range of factors including the sorts of activities that people are doing in those pools and perhaps some weaknesses in people’s understanding of water safety,” he told AAP.

Mr Scarr said there had been at least 34 drowning deaths in March across the country.

Over the 2023/2024 summer months, 99 people drowned.

The two men who drowned are understood to have been holidaying from Victoria.

The Queensland government said there is funding for programs for swimming lessons among multicultural groups in the state.

“We have bolstered our efforts to teach particularly young people to swim … we need people to swim before they get to school,” Premier Steven Miles said.

“If there are more things that we should do for migrant communities I’m sure we can talk with them.”

Mr Scarr said it is important for people of all ages to learn swimming skills and for young children to be constantly watched in the water.

“Ensuring that all Australians, whether they’re residents, migrants, people who were born here or from overseas, ensuring that everyone understands water safety is important,” he said.

Queensland Police is investigating the men’s deaths and a report will be prepared for the coroner.