Ximo Puig has announced a pilot program in which several coastal towns will participate, including Guardamar.
It will see the use of drones on the beaches of ten municipalities that will be used by lifeguards to spot swimmers and bathers who might be in difficulty.
The formal announcement, called the ‘Stop Drowning Campaign’, was made by the President in Javea, alongside the mayor and the head of the Security and Emergency Response Agency (AVSRE), José María Ángel.
The pilot project to carry out this support work for the first aid and rescue services by the use of these unmanned aircraft will be carried out in 10 municipalities, on the beaches of Guardamar del Segura , Dénia, Jávea and Benidorm, in the province of Alicante; Alboraya, Gandia and Cullera, in the province of Valencia, and Burriana, Oropesa and Peñíscola, in the province of Castellón.
The project will last three months, running from Monday to Sunday, can be adjusted to the needs of each municipality and will be coordinated by the AVSRE.
The drones will work together with the rescue services employed on each of the beaches to deploy surveillance support tasks in the bathing areas and to launch floats to those bathers in difficult situations.
Puig has also underlined the importance of the ‘Stop drowning’ campaign, which seeks to make people aware of the need to act “prudently” to avoid dangerous situations. He said that drowning is currently the third leading cause of mortality in the world amongst boys and girls aged between 5 and 14 years.
He said that the Valencian Government is determined to “achieve, together with the involvement of the general public, a coast that is completely free from drowning, because, as the slogan of the campaign says to all those people who enjoy our beaches in summer, “we want to see you again.”
Puig also expressed his concern about the numbers of people who have drowned, with 23 deaths in the Community up to July 31. A total of 61 bathers died last year, a trend similar to that in 2019. “We cannot stand idly by,” he said.
