The Leader Newspaper

News

TRAGIC WEEK AS FOUR DIE IN BATHING ACCIDENTS

Print | Send to a friend

Gemma Quinn / 2012-08-12 12:33:36

A British toddler was amongst the victims this week who all drowned. Wednesday was a tragic day across the region with the number of deaths by drowning hitting the headlines.

On Wednesday afternoon a two-year-old girl died while on holiday in San Miguel de Salinas, drowning in the swimming pool at the villa where the family were staying.

The family, from Ludlow in Shropshire, were renting a private villa where the tragedy happened with police saying the girl's mother was present at the time. The Daily Mail newspaper reports that she had fallen asleep in a hammock and awoke to find the little girl floating in the pool.

Paramedics quickly arrived at the scene but could do nothing to revive the toddler. A Guardia Civil spokesman said 'a routine investigation is underway but everything is pointing to this being a tragic accident.'

Just before this, a swimmer, aged 43, died in hospital after being on the Muchavista beach in EL Campello. Assistance arrived shortly before 16.45hrs but after being resuscitated for 45 minutes by effective practitioners he was evacuated to San Juan Hospital, where he later died.

According to sources, lifeguards on the beach at the time had given notice three times for bathers to get out of the water as the red flag was flying. He was pulled out of the water in cardiac arrest and died upon admission to the hospital.

At 17.20hrs a 56 year-old German citizen was injured with a blow to the head and lost consciousness after falling down a steep area on the Rock of Ifach in Calpe. This blow could be fatal, but at the time of going to press the injured man had been admitted to the Provincial Hospital de Denia, and was thought to be out of danger.

The man's wife had raised the alarm telling emergency operators that her husband was unconscious after falling from a rugged area of the Rock of Ifach. He was air-lifted to the hospital in Denia.

Earlier in the week there was another drowning, this time at Punta Prima beach, Torrevieja. An English family witnessed the accident and aided in his rescue from the water. Once on land bathers assisted in administering CPR but it was sadly too late. Reports say he was on holiday with his wife and two granddaughters.

These deaths are in addition to that recorded in Torrevieja, after a 62-year German lost his life while he was bathing in the Cala Ferris. Apparently the man was bathing in a prohibited area and therefore there was no monitoring service.

The deaths go to highlight the importance of observing and obeying the lifeguards and the three flag system – green for go, yellow for swim with caution and red for swimming prohibited. The flags are there for bathers and swimmers safety and should be taken note of at all times.

With the coast basking in heat this weekend as a wave of Saharan air hit the province along with high humidity levels, thousands were expected to hit the beach and cool off with a dip in the sea and authorities urged everyone to observe the lifeguards and warning system.

The Saharan air wave on Friday shot temperatures up to 43 degrees in parts of the province as Alcoy and Villena. The thermometer gave no respite to Pinoso where it reached the 41 degrees mark. Alicante and Benidorm were slightly cooler – 33 and 35 degrees and parts of Elche reached 36 degrees.

The Meteorological Agency (AEMET) issued amber alerts for the heat over the weekend saying that with the humidity level expecting to reach almost 70%, it will feel even hotter. Temperatures are expected to cool again slightly today (Monday.)