New drama on French beaches. The body of a 19-year-old girl, who disappeared Monday off the beach of Canet-en-Roussillon (Pyrénées-Orientales) in a stormy sea, was found around 10 p.m. by the diving firefighters, according to an information of the Midi Libre.
The two young men of the same age who accompanied him were able to return to the shore by themselves, and were transported to the Perpignan hospital center.
An important device had been deployed in the area: it took the Samu, two fire ambulances, a Dragon helicopter and eight diving firefighters to help the victims.
A thousand deaths per year
With fine weather, bathing opportunities multiply and with them, the risk of drowning. Public Health France has set up specific drowning surveillance at the request of the Ministry of Health, regardless of age categories and environments (sea, swimming pool, lakes and rivers). The objective is to identify daily drownings that required emergency services from June 1 to August 31.
Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu, the first French world swimming champion in 1998, asked local communities at the end of June to “reopen the swimming pools” after the Covid-19 crisis, in order to fight against drowning during the summer. At the origin of a thousand deaths per year, drownings are the leading cause of accidental death of under 25s, according to the latest Public Health France investigation conducted in the summer of 2018, the minister recalled at the time. sports.