The mystery of the woman rescued after spending six hours at sea in Barcelona

No hypothermia, no breathing difficulties, no psychological impact.

The swimmer rescued early Monday morning after spending more than six hours at sea in Barcelona was released a few hours later in perfect condition after being subjected to observation.

The 29-year-old woman had gone swimming after 9:00 p.m. on Sunday from the city's Sant Miquel beach and a cargo ship, the

, spotted her at 4:00 a.m. Monday at 4:00 p.m. .4 miles (more than 7 kilometers) from where it left, according to Maritime Salvage.

Experts admit that her good physical condition is "surprising" after having spent so many hours on the high seas in the middle of the night.

The notice of his disappearance was given by other bathers on Sunday, when they explained that a woman had gone swimming at around nine o'clock at night on the beach more than an hour ago and had not returned.

Her dog was waiting for her in her arena, and they followed her belongings, without anyone knowing anything about her.

The Mossos, the Urban Guard, the Firefighters and the Medical Emergency System went to the scene, and the Maritime Rescue and the Civil Guard maritime service were also activated.

The search lasted until two in the morning, when it was suspended to resume the next day.

"I don't understand it, because these hours are crucial and what is usually done is to intensify the search with heat cameras," criticizes Fernando Sánchez, president of the Andalusian Federation of Rescue and First Aid.

"This perhaps explains the lack of means."

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A woman rescued after six hours at sea in Barcelona

At approximately four in the morning, the

found the woman 4.4 miles from her belongings, near the entrance to the Port of Barcelona, ​​in an area about 40 meters deep.

She approached the ship swimming, they heard her scream and they threw a life preserver at her, according to Salvamento Marítimo.

The woman then said that she had gone swimming and that the current dragged her out to sea.

Her good physical condition surprised the health workers at the Hospital del Mar, who treated her.

The woman herself refused to go to the health center after being helped because she felt fine, she said, but she eventually spent a few hours under observation.

She was subjected to different physical and psychological tests there and was discharged before noon.

Between corridors, the toilets admit that her story and her explanations about ocean currents "are surprising."

Emili Garcia, a researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences of Catalonia, confirms that the currents of the Barcelona coast traditionally move from north to south, the direction of the swimmer.

“There are eddy zones, but the usual trend is this,” he explains.

"Exceptional case"

Experts point to two variables that interfere with a person's ability to survive in the sea: "The temperature of the water and the physical capacity of the swimmer," says the president of the Andalusian Rescue Federation.

Low water temperatures can lead swimmers to suffer from hypothermia, which in the worst case "can lead to cardiac arrest," explains the manager.

The risk of drowning increases with "tiredness" from not being able to stay on the surface.

“This is a very exceptional case,” admits Sánchez, a lifeguard trainer.

“Swimming six hours in the sea and surviving with hardly any hypothermia is amazing.

The most we had seen on our coast was a boy who was carried away by the current with an inflatable and who was found after three hours dehydrated and very affected.

There is no single point of view in the medical sector to understand how the woman came out of the water in such good condition.

"Either the woman is lying, or the sea water is very hot," says Pere Domingo, a doctor at the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona.

The waters of the Barcelona coast are at about 28 degrees, a higher temperature than usual that perhaps served as a lifeline for women.

Dr. Pedro Castro, intensivist at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, ​​agrees on the importance of temperature: "The current temperature does not correspond to very cold water and it facilitated the conservation of the bather's body temperature," he analyzes.

Mild hypothermia is diagnosed when a body is between 32 and 35 degrees.

“When you are young and you are used to cold waters, you have more resistance capacity”, understands the doctor from the Clinic.

Frederic Tortosa, president of the Catalan rescue federation, sees it possible to get out of the water without hypothermia: "There are people who cover the Strait of Gibraltar, and they are colder waters."

Sánchez, however, points to her experience as a lifeguard to show her amazement at the rescued woman's physical ability.

“When we cover crossings in Torremolinos (Málaga), we always carry the thermal blanket and the defibrillator for cases of hypothermia, and we always end up attending to more than one participant”, she compares.

"And these competitions are held during the day and with wetsuits."

In any case, the temperature of the sea between day and night varies little, according to García.

"The processes are much slower in the oceans and it is difficult for the surface layers to cool down at night."

The happy ending of the story does not cover the strangeness that it generates among the experts consulted.

“It is an amazing case.

No one goes swimming out to sea alone in the middle of the night”, recalls Tortosa.

“And I am not aware that there was a wave alert,” she adds.

Garcia calls the news “striking”, while Sánchez implies that the woman had to be in very good physical shape: “Swimming training usually lasts two and a half consecutive hours at most.

It is very difficult to maintain yourself energetically.

It is impressive that after six hours swimming at sea he was discharged so quickly.”

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