A 16-year-old teenager drowned on Saturday August 28 at a place called Aouach, near Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), after having rescued his young cousin of 6 years, in difficulty in the waters of the Garonne, in an area yet prohibited to swimming, we learned this Tuesday from a police source, confirming information from
La Dépêche
.
Read alsoAn alarming series of drownings on the coasts of France
After having brought assistance to his cousin, the young man would have lost his footing and would have been carried away by the force of the current of the river.
Alerted around 3 p.m., help quickly arrived on site.
A gendarmerie helicopter was mobilized to fly over the area while firefighting divers probed the Garonne to try to find the trace of the missing teenager.
His lifeless body was finally found two hours later, two meters deep.
“
The water was clear enough and the firefighters immediately spotted the red swimsuit worn by the victim,
” explains the same police source.
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The teenager could not be resuscitated.
Contrary to what several media have been able to indicate, no investigation has been opened by the Toulouse prosecutor's office, the thesis of the accident having been retained by the gendarmes of the Muret company.
"
In a way, the accident made publicity
"
"
It's terrible for the family of this boy and for this young man who had his life ahead of him,
" said Jean-Marie Puig, the mayor of Fauga, to
La Dépêche
. And the city councilor to call for the greatest vigilance:
“I implore all the people who come to the Aouach: this drama must remind everyone that it is absolutely necessary to respect the fixed rules and in particular when swimming is prohibited. Such a tragedy must not be able to happen again, ”
he insisted.
“Paradoxically, this drama has aroused the curiosity of holidaymakers, who have come in greater numbers to l'Aouach. In a way, the accident was publicized, ”is
surprised for his part a officer of the gendarmerie company of Muret.
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In a press release published on Saturday evening, the Haute-Garonne prefecture called for caution during aquatic activities.
She recalled that it was "
strictly forbidden to bathe in the lakes and rivers of the department, outside the referenced and authorized bathing areas, the risk of drowning being always present
".
"
If the river seems calm, it contains traps within it for the swimmer who can risk his life
", like strong currents that cannot be detected on the surface, or even rocks as well as the opacity of the water. water which present “
unexpected obstacles for the swimmer as well as for the diver.
“Each year, accidental drownings are responsible for around 1,000 deaths in France, about half of which between June and September, the prefecture further underlined.
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