People in Guardamar are completely ignoring the red flags that have been flying all day on the town’s beaches. As a result, up to 2pm this afternoon (Tuesday), there have been 16 people pulled out of the sea by lifeguards.
According to José Luis H. Oliva, the coordinator of beaches in the coastal municipality. “We must highlight the poor awareness of parents regarding their children because quite a number have been taken from the water this morning. Many of them are being completely irresponsible and but for the excellent work of the lifeguards there could well have been a number of fatalities.”
Just last month two children aged 11 and 16 were orphaned when their parents were drowned during an early morning swim. The incident received nationwide publicity but even that seems to have been quickly forgotten.
Red flags have been flying all day on the Roqueta, Moncayo and Centro beaches where the lifeguards have been completely over run.
The councillor said that “Some of the rescues have been very complicated because they involved multiple victims. Almost all have been parents with children and even entire families.”
He continued “The red flags have been raised because of the force of the currents and the undercurrents that we have seen close to the shore, and that drag the bathers towards the bottom. The situation has been complicated today because the beach has been at 100% occupancy, the vast majority of users being holidaymakers.”
By the end of the day the number of rescues involving lifeguards had risen to 28.
