Two young people were fined on Saturday for pretending to drown on a beach in Guardamar because of a social media challenge
Similar incidents happened twice last weekend on the Central beach in the municipality. On the second occasion the Civil Guard were called to intervene-
The new trend is a viral challenge that consists of pretending to be drowning on the beach and attracting the attention of lifeguards. “We saw it from a distance although it had also happened on beaches in Alicante and San Juan,” said José Luis Hernández, head of the lifeguard services for the Red Cross in Guardamar, and now it has reached the beaches in Guardamar del Segura.
On Saturday, several young people pretended they were in danger and lifeguards were called into action to save them, but it turned out to be a prank. It was also repeated on Sunday, at which point the Guardia Civil intervened and were able to identify them.
“We are on the beaches to help bathers in distress but if we are doing other things it prevents us from being able to attend to those incidents that really need our attention,” said the local Red Cross lifeguard officer.
The mayor of Guardamar, José Luis Sáez, has also criticised the antics on his social networks, assuring that “it must be eradicated at the root”. And the fact is that mobilising emergency teams without it being necessary should attract a hefty fine.
“It must be a significant economic sanction, we are going to make people aware that this should not be done, and that is why we called the Civil Guard,” said José Luis Hernández, who added that “the sanctions for these idiotic actions can be very harsh”.
