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Rescuers on the beach in Scheveningen:
Algae avalanche
Photo: Sem van der Wal / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Ten surfers jumped into the water that fateful Monday.
A carpet of white sea foam covered the beach at Scheveningen.
None of the athletes suspected the danger.
Only five of them returned alive.
On May 11 last year, rescue workers and residents searched for hours for survivors, and a helicopter was also in action - but they only found bodies.
In the days that followed, the Dutch Surfort was in mourning.
How did the accident come about?
Two of the five drowned people were over 30 years old, among them were surf instructors and internationally certified lifesavers.
They had worked on site for a long time and knew the beach, the winds and currents.
The other three were athletes in their twenties.
“The tragedy came as a total surprise,” says Katja Philippart, marine biologist at the Dutch marine research institute NIOZ: “Nobody knew the potential danger.
As far as we know, nothing like this has ever happened before. "
Philippart put together an international research team, including meteorologists and remote sensing experts, who, among other things, evaluated the data from the earth observation satellite called Sentinel.
Her investigation report comprises 52 pages.
He traces exactly how a chain of unusual circumstances led to the disaster.
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